A Brando Family Matter
by mariahlightfoot1
Summary: With the defeat of Dio, the matter of his inheritance has fallen to his widow, (Y/n). While Dio didn't leave much behind besides a fortune and a hundred year old legacy, (Y/n) finds herself having to seek out Dio's widespread children. Her search leads her to Giorno Giovanna in Italy, the oldest known descendant. (Ported over from my A03 account)
1. Chapter 1

The silence was thick between them. Just when Giorno thought airplanes couldn't get much more awkward. People cracked jokes all the time, being cramped into a flying tin with 50 to 80 people, with barely any room to breathe. Throw in some minor turbulence and the idea of being at over a thousand feet with total strangers, it could be quite maddening. But it didn't compare when the 'stranger' next to him claimed to be a living relative of his father, Dio Brando, and the holder of a sizable inheritance from said father. Honestly he didn't even think his 'father' had given a second thought to him, let alone written up any will, based on what little he did know of the man. And yet, here was his widow, a woman with (h/c), (H/l) hair, piercing (e/c) eyes, (s/c) skin, and, unless his eyes betrayed him, four prominent fangs. She had long since remarried since his father's defeat, but that still left her with the matter of Dio's worldly possessions, what little there was. Giorno wouldn't admit it, under his cool temper and easy nature, but he was nervous.

Giorno flicked the lighter he'd taken from Polpo, in his first day, subtly changing the lighter back and forth between a flower and it's original form. He was suddenly deeply starting to regret choosing to take this trip on his own. He had to admit, the thought of learning anything about the father that never was, had been tempting to Giorno. Hell even knowing the man even thought about him. To his understanding, he resembled the man greatly, apparently.

(y/n) hadn't shown any sort of jealousy towards him, or even treated him poorly through this trip. In fact, they'd barely said two words. A simple invite to Japan, to review the inheritance and briefing Giorno on the kind of inheritance he'd be taking on. Honestly? He wasn't surprised to learn the kind of man his father was. Or why his widow didn't come off as the teary eyed widows he'd seen plenty of times in his short time in Passione. (Y/n) seemed like a kind woman, despite the hard exterior. In another life, he wouldn't have minded being the son of such a woman. But perhaps in that life, he would also find himself a victim of his father's ambition. Giorno glanced over again at the seat next to him. She'd fallen asleep.

Giorno sighed, shifting to sit straighter. If only it were so easy for him to forget about this mess the way she did, to be able to sleep soundly. Part of him wanted to reject the deal, say he didn't want anything from his father that never was. But as good a liar as Giorno was, he'd quickly found she had a nose for lies.

"Attention passengers, we will be arriving at Naples International Airport in fifteen minutes! Please turn off all electronic devices and buckle in if you have not already. Thank you and have a wonderful trip, in Naples, Italy!" Giorno's Japanese was rusty, but he could get the message of the overhead. (Y/n) shifted in the seat next to him, peeking one (E/c) eye open. Giving a sleepy groan, (Y/n) sat up, proceeding to pop several joints in her wrist and hand. Giorno looked out the window again, taking in the scenery of Naples.

"We're there?" (Y/n) mumbled, turning her one open eye out to the window as well.

"You slept through it." Giorno sighed.

"I'm used to 'em crashing before we get there." (Y/n) mumbled, opening the other eye. Giorno's eyes flicked to her with a bewildered look, before glancing back out the window.

"Ya don't talk much, do you." (Y/n) yawned.

"What's there to say." Giorno mumbled.

"Ya got me there... Still. I don't know. 'What was Dio like', 'how have you been', 'how did you find me'?"

"I don't make a habit of asking questions i know the answer to." Giorno grumbled. "Besides. Even if i did want to know, what does knowing him make a difference?"

"Speedwagon wasn't kidding. Ice cold." (Y/n) sighed.

"I'm not being cold. But my father doesn't define me, now does he." Giorno said.

"A fair assessment." (Y/n) sighed. "You might have to show me 'round. Last time i was here was 1938."

"I'll fit it in." Giorno mumbled. "You weren't even planning on staying long, though."

"I told Dio i'd make him a resting place. Somewhere nice, sunny. Preferably easy to reach, by his request." (Y/n) sighed. "Figured this place fit the bill as well as anywhere else.

"I thought he's English." Giorno looked back with a skeptical look.

"Don't even bring that place up. Not over his ashes." (Y/n) sighed. "He hated England."

"Giorno! Giorno! Over here!" Giorno cracked a small smile seeing Narancia so excited to have him back, waving a piece of paper with 'Giovanna' and a smiley face on it over his head. Fugo on the other hand quietly waved, preferring to quietly observe the situation.

"You know them?" (Y/n) said, seemingly confused by his choice of friends.

"They're my brothers. In Passione." Giorno said awkwardly, as Narancia now waved them over with arms open for a hug.

"That's a- Nevermind." (Y/n) looked startled by Narancia's choice of dress, before shaking her head with a smile.

"You'll get used to them." Giorno chuckled lightly, picking up his bag before glancing at hers. "Allow me." Giorno took her bag in his other hand, seemingly throwing her off by his sudden manners.

"Giorno! You've gotta come back! Bruno's a slave driver!" Narancia whined, running up to his friend and nearly tackling him in a hug.

"I didn't leave, Narancia!" Giorno shook his head, giving a pat to Narancia's back as he continued hugging Giorno around the waist.

"Just because Bruno makes you do a little extra doesn't make him a slave driver, Narancia." Fugo sighed, him and Giorno settling for a firm handshake.

Giorno asks. Bruno orders. there's a massive difference!" Narancia whined.

"You could use such structure." Fugo sighed.

"From what?! A punk who's two years younger than me?" Narancia grumbled, finally letting go after some prodding from Giorno. "Hey! Who's the pretty lady?"

"I suppose you could call her my step-mother, of sorts." Giorno chuckled, as you could see a fond smile appearing, oh so similar to Dio's. You were almost thrown for a loop by the resemblance. "(Y/n) Kujo."

"Pleasure ta meet ya, Giorno's mom!" Narancia took your hand eagerly, shaking it with enthusiasm you could almost compare to a puppy.

"Not my mom, Narancia." Giorno shook his head with a sigh.

"How about we take this to the car, hmm?" Fugo suggested, nodding outside.

"I'm driving!" Narancia yelled excitedly, taking the keys from Fugo's hand and darting outside.

"Uh... should he?" (Y/n) had to hold back a small smile.

"Not really." Fugo sighed, motioning for you to step first.


	2. Chapter 2

"Soooo?" Narancia glanced back at Giorno in the rear view mirror.

"Sooooo?" Giorno echoed, giving a side glance back.

"Don't 'soooo' me! What'd you get?!" Narancia huffed impatiently.

"What do you mean?" Giorno said simply.

"You know what i mean! The... thing." Narancia huffed.

"The thing?" Giorno said with a raised eyebrow.

"What'd your pops leave you?!" Narancia huffed. Giorno didn't answer, simply content to look out the window at the passing sea.

"You not allowed to say or somethin'?!" Narancia grumbled, continuing to look between him and the road.

"The estate in Cairo." Attention was turned to (Y/n) in the next seat over, focused on a stack of botanical studies folders. "And all known and unknown properties Dio has acquired through the years. Including one here in Naples. Including their belongings and access to Dio's personal accounts and the safe box in London, of which the contents will be transported to you, to do with what you wish. Dio didn't state by name, but he specified the male heir of his name, Giorno here, should also recieve Dio's primary account. Valued at...112,930,441,325,372.00 Italian Lire. After the conversions have been made, of course. And not including additional accounts Dio has set among other banks."

The car came to a screeching stop as Narancia and Fugo looked back at Giorno with dropped jaws. Giorno didn't look at them, nor seemed fazed by the number, merely looking out the window with a blank expression. After a while of the car not moving, Giorno gave a sidelong glance, raising an eyebrow as if to say, 'what?'.

"... And that's just the main account." Narancia said, somehow managing to keep a steady voice despite his expression.

"Just the main one." (Y/n) didn't seem fazed by the number either, rolling the window down slightly and tossing the ashes of a remaining cigar out. "Being the oldest at the moment, he's got free reign, should any other heirs step forward and it'll be his decision to split the inheritance among them. I've already taken my portion, not that i want it."

"We're having a talk." Fugo had faced back to the front, switching to Italian.

"About what?" Giorno muttered.

"You've been sitting on a fat stack this whole time?!" Narancia chimed in, seemingly appalled at the idea that Giorno was even considering not taking it.

"Not this whole time." Giorno shrugged.

"Take it! What the hell are you sitting around on your ass for?!" Narancia huffed.

"If everything goes according to plan, money won't be an issue. Besides. What do i want from a father i never knew." Giorno said simply.

"And if things don't go to plan you might need that fat stack to get the hell out of Italy." Fugo said.

"They will. We just have to play our cards right." Giorno shrugged. "Again. Money won't be an issue, so what do i want from an absent father."

"Well the absent father is sending you a royal flush. So take the fat stack, and shut up." Narancia grumbled. Giorno merely shook his head, seemingly growing frustrated at the apparent idea that his friends weren't understanding why he wouldn't want such a large amount. Part of him didn't want the money, knowing his friends would treat him differently. And on the other hand, he'd be painting a large target on his back to the rest of Passione. The rich boy gangstar with a stand to change inorganic matter into living things. The boss of Passione would come down on his head faster than he'd be able to book a flight out of Italy.

Not including knowing much of that money was blood money, obtained from poor fools Dio had drawn in, killed, and tricked out of every last lire. Having it in his hands... it'd just feel like he was profiting off misery. The very thing he was fighting to change in Passione. He'd known his father was a cruel man, if an ambitious one. He'd known that just from his mother. He'd rather cut his ties with such a legacy, and begin his own. Wipe the slate clean.

He was snapped out of his thoughts as there was a sudden crunch to the car behind them. Glancing to the seat between them, he could see half of a female shaped stand, half comprised of metal and flesh, leaning just out of the car and holding the bumper of the two cars apart, crushing the car behind them's bumper like bread in one's hand. Within the next instant, there was a soft snapping of fingers from (Y/n) side, as he watched before his very eyes the bumper released from it's crushed state and back to solid, the stand retreating back into (y/n).

"Didn't we just pass this car?!" Narancia growled, honking impatiently.

"Deja vu." (Y/n) said, not looking up from her papers. The car now looked back at her confused.

"Deja vu. 'i've seen this before'. It's a side effect of my stand. Don't mind it." (Y/n) said flipping another paper.

"Y-your old lady's got a stand?!" Narancia said excitedly, looking back at Giorno with big eyes.

"Watch who you're calling old lady! But yes. I have a stand." (Y/n) said, writing a small note in the margins of her paper.

"A-apologies." Narancia mumbled, subdued for once. "But what's your stand?! C'mon, tell us!"

"I can reverse time." (Y/n) said as if it were the most normal thing. "Up to 5 minutes, or so i've timed myself. But i can stop at any interval i choose. Sometimes deja vu occurs, but time's gotta fall back in line. Sometimes the past pops in at points in the future."

"So you can see what happens in 5 minutes?!" Narancia said excitedly.

"And either let it happen, or prevent it." (Y/n) said simply.

"With no repercussions?" Fugo said, sounding more skeptical.

"To my knowledge. Though to be honest, maybe i've just been wreaking hell on a series of alternate dimensions for the past 10 years. I wouldn't know." (Y/n) shrugged. "Far as i know, just the occasional deja vu."

"You should've introduced us to your old lady sooner, Giorno! She's awesome!" Narancia chuckled.

"She's not staying." Giorno said. "She's here to help with the inheritance and then she's going back to Japan with her new husband."

"Surely she can afford a month Giorno!" Narancia whined.

"Ahem." (Y/n) gave a pointed look towards Narancia in the mirror, subduing the 16 year old again.

"Sorry. Ma'am. But you should stay! We'll show you around! Me and Fugo!" Narancia was practically begging by this point.

"Who said i'm showing her around?" Fugo gave a look towards Narancia. "And what did i tell you about keeping your hands on the wheel?!" Fugo practically twisted Narancia's wrists and forced them onto the wheel.

"Ow! Shit!" Narancia growled angrily. He was about to strike back at Fugo before again seeing (Y/n)'s eyes in the mirror, silently resuming driving.

"That's a nice thought Narancia. But i've been here before." (Y/n) said with a small smile.

"No way! I would've remembered a pretty face like yours!" Narancia said in disbelief.

"It's probably when you were in diapers." Fugo sighed.

"Before that actually." (Y/n) chuckled.

"He wasn't born yet, actually. Man this place has grown since 1938. That building used to be the local telegram office." (Y/n) said peering out the window at a passing banking office.

"You're pulling my leg." Narancia said skeptically. "That'd make you-"

"63. A little over that, actually." (Y/n) said naturally. Once again the car came to a screeching halt, right as traffic had come to a halt again.

"Man! I'm bad at math but i know old farts when i see them!" Narancia whistled. "You are pulling my leg, right? You're not actually that old."

"Should i tell them or are you going to." (Y/n) finally addressed Giorno, only to see he'd leaned his head back for a short nap. A long silence followed by soft snores gave them their answer.

"Gior-" Fugo reached back to shake Giorno's knee, before Narancia surprisingly stopped him.

"Giorno's had a long trip. Let him get some sleep." Narancia said, his voice significantly softer. Fugo raised an eyebrow, but took his hand back, the car falling into silence to allow Giorno some well earned rest.


	3. Chapter 3

"Giorno." Giorno grunted, peeking one sleepy eye open. Everything was blurry, but he was still in the car, of what he could tell of his half-awake state. (Y/n) was on his side of the car, shaking his knee waking him up.

"Hello sleepy." (Y/n) said fondly, shaking his knee to wake him. Giorno blinked blearily, staring for several minutes. (Y/n) seemed to catch herself, clearing her throat and resuming the stone faced expression she'd worn before. "We're here." Giorno stifled a yawn, pulling the window curtain of Bruno's car aside to see they'd arrived at the hotel he'd booked for her, before leaving Italy.

"I told you, i've got a contact here. You didn't have to go to these lengths." (Y/n) said, taking the hotel in.

"If you're going to be here, you might as well be easy to find." Giorno mumbled, opening the car door to let him and her out. Right at the door, Mista had taken it upon himself to take (Y/n)'s bags. Right as Giorno thought to praise Mista for his rare show of manners, (Y/n) stepped out of the car after him, straightening her suit and shifting back into the (f/c) heels. Upon seeing her in full view, Mista didn't hold back a whistle of appreciation.

"I see where you get it from now, Giorno." Mista grinned as (Y/n)'s eyes turned from the buildings around to him. He half expected (Y/n) to outright punch the teenager for such forwardness, but rather, she smiled. Suppose he should have expected that, for her attachment to Narancia.

"I'm flattered that you think so." (Y/n) said graciously. Clearly Mista wasn't expecting this either, as he nearly dropped the luggage in surprise.

"I-i... uh..." Mista looked away awkwardly.

"He's much more polite than you described, Giorno." (Y/n) had turned to Giorno, a knowing smile playing at her lips. She knew exactly what she was doing.

"You're a guest. Of course he'd be polite." Giorno answered easily, though his glance towards Mista said otherwise. (Y/n) seemed to notice the glance, but said nothing, gathering her folders and letting herself into the hotel, taking one of the heavy suitcases in hand easily from Mista.

"So. You're the relative he mentioned. He doesn't look like your son." Mista commented, looking between the contrast of (h/c) and blonde hair, as well as the vastly different faces.

"He's not. His father is my husband, and my husband cheated with his mother." (Y/n) said simply, as if the topic were as casual as the weather. Mista looked surprised at the information, and more importantly, her reaction to such. Giorno however didn't seem so pleased to be reminded of the situation, though his posture was relaxed as they walked, he was tense.

"So. Aside from that... what brings you all the way to Italy. Surely you didn't come all this way for a few papers?" Mista continued as they entered an elevator, Giorno pressing the 15th floor for her.

"Well you're right on that bit. I'm here on seperate business, but Giorno comes first." She'd pulled out a small dented metal cigar box out of her pocket, pulling one sweet smelling cigar from it. "I have a few friends here, i intend on visiting in my stay. As well as some old business." Giorno, ever the gentleman, offered Polpo's lighter, lighting the cigar for her. Mista watched the two with vague interest. He had to wonder if this wasn't Giorno's mother, the way he treated her. Giorno spoke to her as he would anyone else, but his actions suggested the two were much closer. Giorno certainly had yet to light anyone else's cigarette.

"So... got a job?" Mista asked after a long while.

"Botanist, with an independant organization." (Y/n) answered, seemingly in a better mood discussing her work.

"Botanist? What's that?" Mista had to blurt, before looking away awkwardly. Rather than the ridicule he was expecting, he only recieved a small laugh from her.

"I work with plants. Help them grow, study them. the like." (Y/n) explained with a kind smile. Was there anything this woman wasn't as polite as could be about?!

"Like Giorno here?" Mista asked, looking between the two in surprise.

"A little. But i do it the manual way. Digging and constant care." (Y/n) chuckled fondly.

"Giorno's got a garden! Don't you?" Mista perked up at the mention, now looking at Giorno. Giorno looked away with an embarrassed look, he didn't like mentioning such a hobby around people outside Mista. "Grown it all himself! No Stand help- wait does she know about-"

"Yes i know." (Y/n) said. By her side appeared the Stand again, this time catching the ashes of her cigar in it's hand. Mista couldn't help admiring the Stand a little bit, it was almost ghost like in it's appearance, but appeared to be made of flesh, with steel defending what would be considered vital, it's body shaped much like her own.

"That's yours, then?" Mista asked, trying not to stare at it as it now turned it's attention on him. While it didn't have eyes, a metal face shield covering the top of it's head and eyes, it was as if it was glaring directly at him, long black strands like wiring forming hair surrounding it's face.

"Iron Maiden." The stand perked up at it's name, crushing the ash pile in it's hand, pulverising the remaining pieces into dust. The elevator gave off a sweet cigar smell now.

"Your old woman's full of surprises, Giorno! Certainly hope she's staying." That earned him a stern glare, but Mista didn't seem to mind the look, continuing looking at Giorno with a grin. Giorno, however, caught the look, now giving Mista a stern look. Mista seemed surprised at his defensiveness, but didn't drop the smirk. "Oh what's that look for, Giorno? Your old lady can take a joke, can't she?"

"Call me old woman, old lady, or anything of the like again, and that smile of yours is going to be awfully misshapen." (Y/n) now said sternly. Mista dropped the smile now, raising his hands in surrender. "Clear?"

"Glass clear." Mista mumbled, seeing Iron Maiden now standing threateningly over it's owner and at him, cracking it's knuckles in tune with her own. As if sensing the tension, the elevator opened, freeing him from the intimidating aura of Giorno and (Y/n). (Y/n) as well seemed relieved to be free of the elevator, her stand disappearing into her as Giorno now took the lead towards her room. Mista didn't press her any further, but any warmth and ease he might have felt around her was now gone, rather replaced by tension. He had to meet any stand Users akin to Giorno's, let alone the aura of strength (Y/n)'s gave off. Perhaps it was her being older, or maybe she'd just been at this longer, but she stretched a blanket of control, both towards her stand and those around her. Respect. That was the word he was searching for. She was no regular Botanist, that was for sure.

"Room service usually shows up around 8 or 9. Try not to get too comfortable. I have it booked for two weeks." Giorno said over his shoulder, approaching a room. 506, handing (Y/n) the keys. Unlocking the door, (y/n) took her other bag from Mista.

"Thank you. Try to stop by later, when you have the time. We've got a lot to discuss." (Y/n) was back to a polite attitude, giving Giorno a smile as the younger man just nodded silently. Seemingly coming to a silent agreement, the two parted without another word, (Y/n) going into the room and Giorno making his quick escape from the awkwardness.

"I know I've said this already, but your mom's a looker!" Mista whispered with a grin. Giorno grumbled, elbowing Mista in the shoulder.

"Could you pick your jaw off the floor for a minute and please start thinking of her as my father's wife?" Giorno scolded. "She's well over your age anyhow!"

"And time has treated her kindly!" Mista chuckled.

"Your funeral." Giorno grumbled.

"If that face is my last vision of this earth, i think i'll die happily." Mista said smugly.

"And if it's my face that ends up being your last vision of this earth?" Giorno muttered with red on his cheeks.

"Nothing wrong with bein' number 2!" Mista patted him on the back casually.

You sighed, dropping your bags by the bed and falling backwards onto the bed. Giorno certainly was more of a handful than his file had suggested. Well. That wasn't fair. It was his friends. The duality of personalities seemed to clash and swarm around him, Giorno himself seemingly handling it with the same sense of grace he showed towards you. Yet you couldn't help but be proud of him, in an odd sense. Sure, gangster was the last thing you'd want of any son of yours, but Giorno brought his father's duality of ambition and grace to the profession. With a sigh, you opened your eyes, sitting up in the bed. You'd thought you'd closed the book on Dio back in Cairo, the weight of a hundred years of being reluctantly bound to the man seemingly lifted off your shoulders. And yet... you had to remind yourself that you'd taken this back up. You'd taken it upon yourself to write the final page of Dio's legacy, and hopefully do your part to turn Giorno towards the best path you could, a role you honestly should have taken with his father.

There was a sudden aura of menacing to the room, sparking an old, familiar sense of fear and excitement in you, though you did your best to be ignorant of the feeling.

"How did i know you'd follow me here." You shook your head, standing with a crack of your knuckles.


	4. Chapter 4

"How did i know you'd follow me here." You turned over your shoulder to glance at your suitcase. "Asshole. I already told you i'm not going to take you to it." You summoned Iron Maiden forth, taking a swipe at the suitcase and sending the suitcase flying along with various garments. You just barely managed to catch a small Tupperware container, filled with ashes.

"Look what you almost did." You growled, now taking a swipe at the perfume bottle, shattering it on impact. The liquid of the perfume didn't shatter with the glass, rather drawing together into a tiny puddle and trying to crawl towards the next liquid, a bottle of shampoo.

"This again?" You muttered, Iron Maiden charging across the room and snatching the bottle up. The ball tried to change directions, instead dragging its way towards a pitcher of water. Seeing it crawl into the pitcher, you called Iron Maiden back to defend what was coming. Nothing.

"You think i'll fall for that?" You growled. "I know what you'll do next. You'll wait for me to come over to that pitcher so you can slice my throat out. Well that's not going to-" You stopped yourself, seeing the condensation on the pitcher. Ice water. Growling, you dropped to the floor, just as the condensation shot from the pitcher into tiny water bullets, nicking just your shoulder and ear. Growling you gripped the two injuries, calling Iron Maiden to deflect any further bullets. This didn't seem to be what the stand had in mind, however.

The blood from your wound pulled from your body and formed into another tiny puddle, this time moving against you trying to crawl inside the wound. He was going to take over your blood!

"Tricky, tricky bastard." You growled, already feeling your blood pressure rising as the stand attempted to pool your blood together in your arm. You had two options. Either off with the arm... with the risk of the stand just moving into the next wound... or you had to drain yourself. You'd be absolutely starving later... but if it meant this stand would be out of your system...

Grabbing your razor from your bagging, you dashed for the bathroom. You'd drain yourself, flush him down the drain back to his master.

'Muda muda, muda muda muda. Muda' You paused, blinking at Iron Maiden's suggestion.

"But... then he'd just crawl up the building?" You muttered with a wince as you could feel your heart near at bursting.

'Muda muda.' Iron Maiden scoffed, looking offended that you would even question such a plan.

"Iron Maiden! Reset! Act 2!" You ordered, as you could immediately feel a relief on your heart, blood resuming to your extremities as the scene played back out before your eyes. Without a second thought, you dashed towards the pitcher, watching the stand turn from a puddle of blood back to the pitcher. Snatching a nearby water bottle, you dumped the water out and began pouring the pitcher into the bottle, keeping yourself just stretched so the water wouldn't be affected by your own personal pocket of time.

"Iron Maiden! Resume!" You yelled just as time came to a brief stop, allowing you to slam a cap on the bottle. "We can't get rid of you here. So for now, you're taking a ride with me." You huffed, setting the water bottle back into your suitcase and began cleaning up your mess.

"You're real trouble. But i can wait. If your master's listening, if you want your Stand back, you'll have to come face me. Personally. And when he comes forward, i want information. About his boss. About the stands coming after me. And about Caesar."

The water seemed to balk at these demands, sloshing violently about the water bottle trying to break free.

"I'll take that as a no." You scoffed at the flailing, and violently shook the bottle, knocking the water inside from one end of the bottle to the other. "Ready to talk now?" The water went still. "You'll meet my demands at... well. I know where you're going to confront me. Wait until my boy goes to the bathroom. We'll have ourselves a little talk there. Since you seem to think you're doing such a good job of following me." You set the bottle in your purse, standing to examine the mess.

"Dame dame..." You shook your head, setting the knocked over case back on the bed. You winced, seeing the bullet holes from the condensation still on your skin, slowly healing over. You'd need to feed, to completely heal them, but you could cover them, for dinner.

"There's easier ways to deal justice to gangs than to join them." You sighed, picking at your Negro Di Sepia. Either the recipe had changed or your tastes had, you recalled it being more sweet, the way Caesar had made it. You couldn't help glance around. This is where his gang met? You wouldn't say you were expecting something more seedy, but a table at the back of a fine dining restaurant? Giorno and his gang were classy, if anything.

"With who? Become a cop? Arrest gang members thinking you'll see them punished only to watch them buy their way out the next day? No thanks." Giorno mumbled, prodding his own Alfredo with a fork.

"Have you no faith in police whatsoever?" You sighed.

"I have faith in them. But the problem's like a cancer. It must be cut at the source." Giorno said.

"That's... not how cancer works, but i'll take that analogy." You shook your head.

"Especially in this town." Giorno muttered. "And you're changing the subject. We weren't talking about me." Giorno pointed his fork at you.

"Right. My business." You shifted in your seat, taking another bite of your nero de sepia and chewing slowly to buy yourself time to think. Just how much could you tell a 15 year old. About Caesar, how you thought he was dead for almost 60 years only to reappear now and contact you of all people. About Polnareff, who was being extorted by the very people Giorno had put his trust in. About how a stand user tried to kill you in a car crash mere weeks before to prevent this meeting. About the Pillar men? The stone masks? The stand arrows? The Red Stone of Aja? There was so much to say and no way to condense all of it.

"Well?" Giorno prompted.

"... Are you aware of anyone in the gang by the name of Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli?" You asked.

"... It's not polite to answer a question with a question." Giorno said, setting his fork down into his pasta.

"No... but knowing him would make this a helluva lot shorter." You admitted.

"You know i don't know everyone in the gang? That's the point of the secrecy element." Giorno sighed.

"I know. But if you knew him by reputation..." You mumbled.

"Fine... I've heard the name. In passing." Giorno said. You perked at the words, now focused on Giorno. "There's an island out by Venice. Air Supplena? It's been there forever, to the locals. Well, about 30 or 40 years ago, Madame Lisa Lisa left it in the hands of some of her students to be closer to her son. Around that time, rumours of a man appeared, and ran a school of sorts, out of Air Supplena. In the beginning, the didn't bother anyone."

"Any family that you know of? Wife? Children?" You asked eagerly.

"Nobody by the name of Zeppeli, aside from Caesar himself. If he is married, it's probably for the best." Giorno said, wiping his mouth of sauce with the corner of a napkin. "Anyway. In the beginning. The students got restless i suppose, and began using the criminals and scum of the town as combat practice, for whatever martial art was being taught on that island. Nobody really could give it a name."

"Hamon." You corrected. "It'd be called Hamon, if it's the Caesar i know."

"... Okay. Well. At some point much of the city owed their safety to Maestro Zeppeli, and eventually him and his school became the groundwork for Passione." Giorno finished.

"Hmpf. I suppose you really can't completely kick the delinquent out of a delinquent." You sighed. "Any news where he is now?"

"I just know him through reputation. Founding Passione. I don't know him personally, nor where he might be if he's alive. If i had to guess. The same place he's always been. Why would he ever leave?" Giorno said simply.

A fair point, you had to admit.

"And what does Caesar Zeppeli have to do with your business." Giorno said, taking another slow bite of his pasta.

"If i had to say? He'd be the crux of it all. But fine. About a couple weeks ago, just before you and i met in Japan... A stand User attacked me." Giorno sat up at this, a flash of concern over his face.

"Stand was some kinda liquid, it was raining hard that night. Anyway, i was driving along the road, middle a' nowhere. Nobody woulda seen a thing. Waiting till i was right near the guard rail. Bam!" You slammed your fist into your other hand, emphasising the crash. "Bastard sent me over the rail and tumbling down. Guess the bastard didn't account that i could reset time yet, as i did exactly that and tried to get back on the road. It accounted for that too, and just turned the rain into bullets. Eventually sent me crashing down the hill. Really only managed to survive by Iron Maiden." You pulled the water bottle out of your bag, setting it on the table. "Think this is the same bastard."

"It's... water." Giorno peered in closer, as the water gave a sudden hard slam against the water bottle, deforming the plastic.

"Water with an attitude. It relies on water, grows with the more liquid it's given. Eventually has a form." You said, giving the water a punishing shake. "Know it's name is Cancer. Don't know it's user. But if i play my cards right, he'll eventually come get his stand."

"What, you think Caesar sent him? Why would he do that, if you seem to know him so well?" Giorno asked, taking the water bottle to examine.

"No. But i think Caesar knows why he wants me dead so badly." You muttered in thought.

"Do you have any suspicions?" Giorno asked, handing the bottle back.

"... that depends. How much do you know about Caesar." You said.

"Like i said, founder of Passione." Giorno shrugged.

"hmm. Well. you want the long version or the short version." You sighed.

"Short. Preferably." Giorno sat up in his seat.

"For near on a thousand years, Hamon Masters have been protecting a red stone, a Super Aja. When applied, it uses the power of sunlight to create a blast of energy, enough to put any super weapon to shame. Well. About 68 years ago this day, an ancient Pillar Man and his companions attempted to steal the red stone for a project, a mask to allow them, and by extension, myself, the ability to walk within sunlight." You said. "Caesar and his friend, Joseph Joestar, fought the pillar man and his companions. Caesar was presumed dead within the mission, but as we've just confirmed, he survived, by means i'll get to with Caesar. And now, latest reports from Russia, apparently they weren't the only ones."

"You think there's one last pillar man." Giorno said calmly, taking in the information as well as any sane person could.

"And i think it's the same person who's sending stand users after me. I also have reports that people have apparently appeared in hospitals with arrow wounds." You said. "Cross referencing those, i also found similar wounds reported almost 68 years ago in the Soviet Union, as well as the soviet union conducting tests on Stand Users."

"And what do you get out of this?" Giorno asked raising an eyebrow.

"If they're anything along Kars level of competence? An invincible force with potentially a stand wandering Europe shooting people with Stand Arrows." You said plainly. "Ignoring that half the people aren't even reported alive, and the other half could end up in lines of work like our little friend here. You, me, and god knows how many stand users are in massive trouble."

"No more trouble than we usually are." Giorno said simply.

"I also got an anonymous tip that pairing the arrows with the Red Stone of Aja can produce particularly powerful stands and or massively improve current stands and their users. All it would take is one idiot with a fairly weak stand getting shot with such a thing and suddenly there's a power struggle all across Italy." You sighed. "You can argue 'strength vs application' all day if you'd like. you can't deny there's a balance upset here."

"And what would you do with such, if such fell into your lap?" Giorno asked.

"Get it as far away from people as possible." You sighed. "That's what i need of Caesar. Part of me doubts Lisa Lisa would ever part with the stone willingly, but Joseph is of no competence to be guarding such a thing, with the kind of trouble he attracts. So that leaves Caesar and his students. And to get in contact with Caesar... i'd need the assistance of an old friend. One i can't tell you the name of, for his own safety."

"You say that. But it's rather easy to say such before you hold it in your hands." Giorno said, taking another bite.

"True. And... that's the other reason why i need Caesar by my side when i do it. If there's anyone i can trust to cut me down, should i have any sort of mad power idea, it's him." You said certainly. "You're... taking this rather well."

"Honestly? Part of me has a hard time believing any of it." Giorno admitted. "But perhaps it's the wine talking... but i believe you."

"I certainly hope so. Passione's power upset's at stake." You said sternly.

"But. I'm not certain i can help you." Giorno sighed.

"I don't expect you to." You said firmly. "You've done me a great service just by confirming Caesar's state of being."

"And if i'd said he was dead?" Giorno said sceptically.

"Well. That would have made my search a lot more complicated." You said. "No guarantees he even has the thing, but if he didn't, the only other place Lisa Lisa would entrust it to is another Hamon master. At the moment, that makes Caesar, and Joseph."

"So the inheritance was an opportunity for you?" Giorno said reaching for the bottle of wine between you two.

"More like something i had to get off my chest. I really only came across the will by finding Dio even had the idea to amplify the Stand Arrow's power." You admitted, holding your glass out for some wine.

"So where do you go from here? Giorno asked.

"Hopefully i can get a name and some information about the stand arrow's status from this little bastard, and then i have to seek out my old friend." You said simply. "Might take me out of Italy, but we'll sign the inheritance over to you tomorrow when the bank's open."

"If you'll pardon my impudence. But i want to help." Giorno said.

"Involving more people just paints a big target on my back, kid. And besides, i'm sure Passione has missions of their own for you. Not enough time to be helping me cross the country after a rumour." You said, taking a sip of your wine.

"I'll need to have a talk with Buccellati, but something can be arranged. If my father believed in it, then perhaps there's some truth to it. And perhaps i can learn about the kind of inheritance i'll be taking on." Giorno said. You couldn't help but give a worried glance. He had his father's charisma, of that there was no doubt. But taking this mission on was putting your own life at risk, not to mention anyone involved. you'd like to keep those casualties to a minimum. He may have been Dio's bastard, and a reminder that Dio didn't even bother to wait for you, but wether you liked it or not... he was family. and you would rather see the Brando's go out on a better note than Dio.

You had to laugh, inwardly. You were protecting a family line that wasn't even yours, by blood. And yet... you couldn't help but treat the 15 year old like your own son, your own blood. If anything... perhaps you could turn around the Brando family legacy. You just had to guide Giorno to stay away from his father's mistakes.

No pressure.

Right?

* * *

"Does the word 'subtle' mean anything to you?" Giorno prodded his Alfredo, not meeting Buccellati's eyes.

"It's my... well. The personal time i asked for." Giorno mumbled awkwardly, glancing at (Y/n)'s plate. Buccellati didn't show it, on his face, but Giorno could see bubbling disappointment in his expression.

"Giorno... i'm not going to lecture you about how to handle your love life. Nor am i going to tell you not to seek a relationship. It's natural. Perfectly so. But there's a line you have to draw between the gang and your romantic life. Imagine if she told someone about Passione." Buccellati began, in the steadiest tone he could manage given the situation.

"She's not-" Giorno looked up quickly, his face growing red at the implications.

"Giorno. I saw the whole thing. It's nice that you found someone. It really is. I'm happy for you. But in Passione we have to take precautions, especially in our love life. Bringing her to the ristorante is extremely reckless, even if you haven't even discussed gang business." Buccellati started to fall into a lecturing tone. Giorno blinked a bit, shrinking in his seat. He'd never admit it aloud, but being lectured by Buccellati set a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"She's not my girlfriend." Giorno insisted, trying to will away the red on his face.

"Don't lie to me Giorno." Buccellati warned, now with a stern look. "You know how that ends. She can only be your girlfriend! She's got to be your age, if not slightly older. You're both Japanese, probably how you two met. And i saw you feeding her Alfredo on your fork."

"She's my mother!" Giorno huffed. Buccellati's look of annoyance grew into one of disbelief.

"Giorno. Do you take me for a complete fool?" Buccellati scoffed. "There's not a single wrinkle or Gray hair on that woman. Genetics are one thing, but she would've been raising you for the past fifteen years, putting her at least mid 40's to 50's."

"Well... not my birth mother, no. But she was married to my birth father." Giorno shook his head.

"Unless your father was in the habit of marrying teenagers she'd still be at least her mid 40's." Buccellati huffed. "Just come clean Giorno and tell me you asked me for personal time so you could take your girl on dates."

"She really is!" Giorno insisted. "And i'm not lying! She reached out to me to hand over my father's will! Which i have right here." Giorno reached into his pocket, handing the neatly folded paper to Buccellati. Bruno gave a look of suspicion, but opened the paper. There was a long silence, as Buccellati read the paper over.

"112,930,441,325,372.00 Italian Lire." For once Buccellati looked impressed, reading off the amount. "I know it's not my business about your past, or why you're in Passione with such money and status to your name, and i'm not going to pry."

"It's not mine, not yet anyway." Giorno mumbled. "I didn't grow up around my father, nor his wife here. I didn't even know she existed till a week ago. I didn't even know such a large amount would land in my lap, nor my father even give a second thought to me."

"You keep insisting she's your father's wife. Giorno just come clean. I'd prefer you be honest with me." Bruno sighed.

"I'm being honest, i promise Buccellati." Giorno insisted. "She's in the bathroom right now. But when she comes back she'll confirm everything i just said." Giorno pointed towards the bathroom.

"... Speaking of which. She's been in there an awful long time." Bruno mumbled thoughtfully. Giorno stopped at the words, seemingly realising himself. "How long does it take a woman to powder her nose anyway." Buccellati started to make his way back to the bathroom, Giorno close behind with a concerned look.

"Y-you're gonna- We can't go in there!" Giorno stuttered.

"And why not?" Buccellati gave a pointed look over his shoulder.

"Women's room. I think it's pretty self explanatory!" Giorno said, pointing at the sign.

"And if Passione ordered you to chase someone into the women's bathroom, would you say no then too?" Buccellati asked.

"i...i... that's not a fair question and you know it!" Giorno shook his head.


	5. Chapter 5

"If you value your life, please stay out!" Giorno and Buccellati stopped as there was a sound like water leaking from what seemed to be either a sink pipe or a toilet pipe.

"(Y/n)?" Giorno opened the door to see (Y/n) firmly pressed against the stall door, opposite the mirrors. It seemed she was trying to keep something in the stall, repeatedly being kicked by the door.

"Giorno. Please. Get out." (Y/n) huffed.

"I... Er... What are you keeping in there?" Giorno stepped closer, trying to look under the stall door to see what exactly she was keeping in. To what he could see, the stall seemed to be empty.

"No closer. Please." (Y/n) panted. "Cancer got loose, in my bag. It's on my back right now. It's power... I think it can control my Stand. Or the Stand of whoever's back it's on."

"So it's controlling Iron Maiden right now?" Giorno looked more fascinated than put off.

"Yes! And that's why you need to get out!" (Y/n) huffed. "Don't give me that look! Get out!" Just as she spoke, Iron Maiden came charging from her, taking a swing Giorno's way. Gold Experience caught her fist, just before it could meet.

"There's a stand on your back, you said?" Buccellati hummed, coming closer as well. You were thrown forward, at a particularily hard shove.

"Yes. And it wants to go for that sink! But we can't let it go!" (Y/n) gritted her teeth.

"Indeed?" Buccellati hummed, cautiously circling around the bathroom just short of Iron Maiden's range. "I suppose in order to capture it, we'd have to get it away from that drain."

"And what's that supposed to mean?!" (Y/n) gritted, as Cancer had forced her to take one step forward.

"(Y/n). Show me your back." Giorno said bluntly.

"NO!" (Y/n) growled. "Have you been listening to me at all?! It hops on people's back. And it wants to go to that drain next."

"And if it goes into that drain, we can assume it's going back to the user." Giorno nodded, his expression rather blank for the situation they were in.

"Which is exactly what we don't want!" (Y/n) snapped.

"Heh. I suppose i should speak a bit clearer." Giorno laughed a bit.

"What the hell are you laughing at?!" (Y/n) snapped.

"Buccellati's Sticky Fingers allows him to move between spaces using Zippers. We can follow the piping to the user." Giorno said simply.

"That's impossible and you know it! Who knows how many pipes are in Naples! There's no way we can search them all!" (Y/n) huffed.

"Says the woman with the time Stand." Giorno pointed out. You went silent. Let Cancer escape. Use Buccellati's Zippers to keep up, and... Somehow find the piping that Cancer would go down using your time? It was a rather ridiculous plan. But... What choice did you have.

"Just show us your back already." Buccellati said calmly, Sticky Fingers at the ready. Without another moment to think, you flipped around, flashing a small watery-like gremlin Stand at the mirror. It wasted no time, jumping from (Y/n)'s back with a spurt of blood down the drain.

"GAhhhhhWRYYYYY!" You screeched, gripping the four wounds in your back where the Stand had dug in it's little claw-like fingers.

"Quick! We don't have time to waste!" Buccellati ordered, opening a zipper in the mirror wall. Giorno grabbed you by the arm, rushing through the zipper and out into what seemed to be a few blocks down from where you'd been.

"H-he should be a few seconds behind us." (Y/n) huffed as Buccellati opened the sidewalk below, revealing the running pipeline. Sure enough, the small gremlin like Stand rushed past them, surging through the calmly flowing pipeline. Without another word, Buccellati zipped the pipe shut, and made yet another Zipper, for you all to chase. This one leading to the middle of an empty residential street. Once again, Buccellati checked the ground beneath you. And once again, the Stand rushed past you all towards an unknown User.

* * *

"You really should think about getting your own place, Narancia. It's gotta be cramped in my extra room." Fugo sighed, setting a small pot of pasta noodles down between the two spots at the table.

"I would! Rent's so damn expensive these days, though. Y'know?" Narancia whined, but sat up at the smell of food.

"You're right, there." Fugo sighed, but took Narancia's plate, carefully portioning out the noodles. "But so's feeding two. We're both getting decent pay. You should think about saving some and getting some space of your own."

"It's so lonely by myself though! I'd never sleep right, living alone." Narancia sighed, leaning to try to get a look at the meal on hand.

"But you'd have the space to do what you like." Fugo reminded him, starting to set the plate down. "Ah! Manners!" Fugo snapped, as Narancia had picked up his fork to start digging in. For once, Narancia didn't fight back, setting his fork down and politely waiting for Fugo to serve himself.

"Y'know, for a guy who's relatively broke most of the time... You're a real stickler for manners." Narancia huffed.

"Being poor isn't an excuse to turn into a slop." Fugo sighed. "And anyhow. Like i told you, i was raised upright."

"When're you gonna tell me that story, anyhow? The more you talk about it the more i get curious." Narancia grinned.

"I... don't like to talk about it." Fugo said stiffly, setting his own plate down and going back to the sink to pull out a wine bottle. Cheap, but it would sit with their meal.

"You gotta talk about it sometime." Narancia hummed. "You can't ball that shit up, you know? It's not good for your guts. You'll get constipated if you keep being stressed out." Rather than shoot back, Fugo chuckled a bit, a humoured laugh. His laugh was hollow, however.

"You been reading too much tabloid." Fugo chuckled, setting the bottle down, along with a pair of glasses of water. "But you're right. I shouldn't ball it up. Maybe someday i'll tell you about it. When it doesn't get me so... constipated."

"Not even a bit?" Narancia raised an eyebrow, looking a bit concerned now.

"It stresses me out, like you said." Fugo shrugged. "And anyhow. Why ruin a perfectly good meal with talk like that."

"Remember, you told me you'd tell me." Narancia huffed, pointing a fork Fugo's way.

"Yeah. Just not right now." Fugo hummed with a smile, seating himself and picking up his fork to start eating. Narancia took this as his cue, delicately picking at the noodles and resisting the urge to curl them around his fork. He remembered to take his elbows off the edge of the table as well, remembering to eat politely as Fugo had shown him. They ate in silence for a while, the silence filled in by quiet chomping and the clinking of forks against plates.

Fugo reached for the wine bottle rather than his glass, pushing the screw down with a forceful shove and tearing the cork out with pure force. For as delicate as he could look, at first glance, the raw muscle power Fugo mustered at times could put most weight lifters to shame. Rather than pour for himself, or Narancia, Fugo knocked the bottle back into his mouth, taking several gulps straight from it. Narancia looked up with wide eyes, letting his fork drop at his plate. Did the subject of his past really stress him out like that?! Fugo glanced his way, hearing the fork drop, before motioning 'one moment'. Setting the bottle down after a couple of gulps, he wiped his mouth casually with the napkin.

"Do as i say. Not as i do." Fugo warned with a fork in hand. Narancia looked like he'd speak, before just shutting his mouth and nodding. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything. Damn him and his big mouth!

"It's not your fault." Fugo said, gentler. "It's just... It stresses me out."

"You should tell somebody, sometime. You're gonna blow up if you keep stuff like that in." Narancia hummed. "You'll be like Abbacchio."

"If you say his name enough times he appears." Fugo chuckled.

"Wha- really?!" Narancia panicked, looking over his chair as if Abbacchio really would appear right in their apartment.

"No, not really. But be careful who you badmouth, idiot." Fugo chuckled, taking another bite of pasta. "Besides. Can you really see me with black lipstick?"

"Hmmm... Maybe." Narancia looked him over, setting an elbow on the table to look at Fugo. For once, Fugo didn't snap and tell him to get his elbow off, rather rolling his eyes and continuing to eat in silence. Fugo took another drink of water, emptying the small glass. He stood, taking the glass to the sink and opening the tap to pour himself a drink. For a moment. Just a brief flash. Narancia saw a face in the water, before disappearing into the glass. Narancia must've made some sort of noise, or some sort of movement, as the face pressed against the glass at him with a grin, as Fugo brought the glass to their table. He wasn't sure what... but he couldn't let Fugo drink that glass.

"H-hey. You shouldn't drink that." Narancia gulped. Fugo paused just as he'd brought the glass to his lips now, looking up to give Narancia a confused look.

"Why not?" Fugo quirked his head.

"Y-y-y'know. This Naples water is so dirty! Just toss it out! Get one of the sparkling ones out from the fridge!" Narancia insisted.

"Your glass came from the tap. It's perfectly fine. Everyone's drinking the same water, Narancia. Nobody's dropping dead just because of some dirty city water." Fugo sighed, bringing the glass to his lips again.

"Y-yeah! But it's... it's probably disgusting! Just get one of the sparkling ones from the fridge!" Narancia chuckled, nervously as he reached to take the glass from him.

"What's with you, Narancia? You're being awfully strange." Fugo huffed, setting the glass down and leaning over the table to look Narancia over.

"Heh he! I'm the weird one?! You're the one who was about to drink nasty Naples tap water!" Narancia said quickly, before glancing to his own glass. "Here. If you need a drink, take mine!" Narancia said, pushing his own glass across the table. Fugo just blinked at the water, staring back at Narancia with a strange look.

"But-" Fugo blinked in surprise.

"No buts! Take mine. I'll throw this nasty stuff out!" Narancia said hastily, taking the glass as if it were a hazardous material. Just as he was going to pour the water right back down the drain he noticed the malicious face was gone. Dropping the glass into the sink, he spun around to see the face had moved to his glass... That Fugo was in the middle of drinking. When had-wha- how...

"D-damn! I've got such a thirst now!" Narancia laughed, taking the glass back just as Fugo had set it down. Fugo gave him a strange look, slowly standing up. Narancia blinked, holding the glass closer to his chest as Fugo backed him more and more into the kitchen, till his back hit the edge of the island. Fugo didn't stop, coming closer and closer with a strange look on his face. What was going on?! What was wrong with Fugo?! Was this the work of that weird face?! Was it a stand?! What-

Fugo stared down at him for a moment, their faces just breaths away from each other.

Fugo could be scary, to the uninitiated. Admittedly, sometimes he scared Narancia. Fugo could lose his temper. Sometimes he lashed out. Sometimes he said some awful things.

And that was okay. Because he never meant it.

But in that moment... Fugo actually looked like he would kill him.

Narancia prepared himself for any sort of impact, or violent lashing.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Instead he was met with a hand on his head.

"Hmm. You're a little sweaty. Are you feeling a bit sick?" Fugo spoke softly, like a concerned mother. Narancia just blinked back in shock, as Fugo reached for a kitchen towel, patting his forehead and cheeks.

"I... Uh..." Narancia blinked.

"Might be the stress. We've been under a lot of pressure, lately. I should've paid more attention. Sorry." Fugo sighed, running a hand over through Narancia's hair, smoothing the black strands back. "I know i've been kinda hard on you lately. Sorry about that. But it's cause i know you're capable of so much better." Narancia was shocked, both with the transition of mood and Fugo actually being... concerned, for once.

"Tell you what. Let's go ahead and get this cleaned up, and we'll get you to bed early. Call it a day off tomorrow, and get you some time to rest, alright?" Fugo said with a smile, stepping back to what could be called normal personal space. "Don't worry about a thing! I'll just throw this in the fridge for tomorrow!" Fugo took the glass of water, tossing it back into the drain and starting to clean up the table.

* * *

"Prosciutto, you got his location?"

"Yes. He's headed your way. You've got your Stand ready?"

"..."

"Capo?"

"Capo?"

"I don't think she's listening."

Maria huffed, pulling one earbud out and stuffing her mp3 in her pocket, stepping back to admire her work.

Only so much one could do with marker and a brick wall, and definitely not her finest work. But it would do it's job. It was rare, that Brick in the Wall got to work as functioned. It really sucked when she had to be ahead of her target's path. But overall, she could do her job. It was funny how many people didn't realise they read words on a daily basis. It couldn't be helped. And that's exactly how her stand benefited. Sure, Risotto, Prosciutto, even Formaggio could make fun of her for a stand so simple, one that could only function on a trained response like reading.

But no matter how much of a rush someone's in, they couldn't help reading a sign.

Adding the finishing touches, and giving the words an extra bright colour for added visibility, she popped the earbud back in, and waited for their target to make his attempted runaway. To anyone else, she'd just be another face in the crowd, some punkass out after curfew.

Life was nice, being a capo of Passione. Not so nice, running and monitering La Squadra Execution from ending up on The Boss's radar. Again.

Maybe she'd take the boys out to eat, after this job. They deserved something for all the shit they took, both from Passione main and the underpaid jobs that landed in their laps. Not to mention a glass of wine and a cigarette sounded like a pretty good end to a day, to her anyway. There was no denying, it wasn't just La Squadra that would benefit from seeing Passione gain a little transparency. But one could say Maria was a little greedy.

The Zeppeli's had once been the seat of power, in Passione. Hell, Passione had been founded on the sweat and backs of many a Hamon student of Air Supplena. Was it so bad that Maria felt the Zeppeli's deserved their hard-won seat back? Her mother would probably be less than pleased, that Maria wanted such a bloody lifestyle, let alone one founded now on drugs and crime. But if she had her way... she'd change all that. Return Passione to it's roots. Maybe bring a little justice, to the streets of Naples again.

Maybe find Caesar Zeppeli, and end the old fart's life for real.

He should've seen this coming, abandoning his family the way he did. Sure, he'd gone on to found the very gang she now served and strived to one day sit atop, but for every good deed she could name of his, the abandonment of his family, the violence he'd dragged her mother through, the torment of WW2 Italy and the pain of the overcrowded adoption process her mother and siblings had been pushed through for years onto adulthood. The spitting on of her family history, the hard work and sweat of both her grandfathers, William and Mario Zeppeli. For all of this and more...

She'd been so caught up in herself she nearly missed a loud clanking from a nearby sewer drainage. Hmm. Some kinda animal? Either way, any interference might put her target off, even something like a stray cat, or a dog.

"Get outta here! Shoo! Shoo!" Maria huffed, picking up a nearby empty beer can and flinging it towards the drainage. The can bounced off of the drainage, and seemingly with a life of it's own, bounced back upright next to the drain. Now that was weird. Pulling her headphones from her ears, Maria wandered just slightly closer, marker in hand at the ready. Her target was a stand user, she knew that much. Maybe this was a sign he was getting closer? Maybe he was scouting ahead.

He'd have to work harder than scaring her with a self righting beer can.

"Hmpf. Weird-ass little stand. But you're not gonna scare me with cheap horror like that." Maria huffed, coming just short of the beer can. She couldn't see, with such dark lighting of the alleyway, but she could've sworn the remaining beer in the can had a face. Not willing to take a risk, she pushed her jacket arm up, and starting to write on her arm.

'I can't hurt Maria Zeppeli.'

That'd do.

"Hey! You gonna stay in there and scare me some more, or you gonna face me and get this over with." Maria taunted, kicking the can over and spilling the contents out. From the beer can spawned a gremlin-like stand, currently grinning at her with the most malicious smile she'd seen yet. It'd been a long time since Maria could say she'd ever been afraid of anything. Not since she'd manifested Brick In The Wall. But damn did this come close. The gremlin instead leapt from the puddle of beer onto her shoulder, digging into the muscle and tearing through the jacket.

"Gah! That hurts, you little shit!" Maria huffed, trying to swat at the stand with her marker. It didn't do much more than leave marker streaks on it's body, and seemingly gave the stand the liquid form it was seeking. It sunk straight into the ink of the marker, apparently thinking it could use it to transport it to it's next destination.

"Hey! Get outta that!" Maria huffed, as red gashes started appearing up her writing arm. So this thing used liquid based material to do damage huh? What a shitty, shitty stand! Reaching into her pocket, she slammed the cap onto the top of the marker and grinned in triumph.

"Enjoy the ride, piece of shit!" Maria huffed. "Damn, now i gotta get rid of my marker? Shitty, shitty Stand that you are." Just as she spoke she was shoved out of the way of someone running, causing her to drop the marker down the drain and her to land on the ground.

"Hey, asshole! Watch where you're-" It was him. Formaggio must've triggered the trap already! And of course she had nothing to write with now!

"Hey! Heads up and focus, Capo! You almost completely missed him!"

"I know that!" Maria hissed into the radio, running after the man. She might not have any marker, but she had a bit of blood, thanks to that shitty Stand. She'd be able to get a few messages out, at least. Her target had run straight where he was supposed to, and froze right where she'd written out her trap.

'I want to kill myself'

The man's eyes rolled into the back of his head, following the written order. As if in a trance, the man stumbled back out of the alleyway, the way they'd come. And out into the traffic heavy street.

What a shitty, shitty day.


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey, Mista!"

"Ladies! Wanna get a coffee?"

"No, thanks! Sofia's got a date!"

"Ooh! Who's the lucky guy?!"

"Like you need to know, snoop!"

"I do! I gotta know which guy to ask for if i'm gonna come sweepin' you outta trouble!"

"Flatterer! See ya!"

"You're gonna come off as a creep randomly asking girls like that." Abbacchio scoffed as Mista practically skipped back to the car with a goofy grin.

"What's wrong with tellin' a girl they're cute?!" Mista shrugged, shoving his hands in his jean pockets. "Besides, i'm not doing it with black lipstick and a brown bag wine bottle." Abbacchio huffed, tipping the bottle back and taking a long drink from it.

"I'm shocked you can walk straight with that. Let alone drive." Mista whistled. "Can ya juggle too?"

"It helps steady my hands." Abbacchio growled, screwing the cap back on the top.

"Is it at least good shit?" Mista hummed, taking the bottle bag casually and pulling back the bag to look at the label. "You cheap bastard!"

"Don't shame my taste in wine and i won't shame yours in women." Abbacchio scoffed.

"Oi, oi! It's not the face that matters, but the heart! Every girl deserves to feel a little special, right?" Mista laughed. "And there's always plenty a' Mista Guido to go around!"

"Playboy." Abbacchio scoffed.

"Can't a guy tell a girl she's beautiful and not be tryin' to get in her pants?" Mista sighed, the two starting to cross the street at the signal. Abbacchio towered over him, and it must've seemed quite the sight seeing such a tall man walking next to shorter, lankier Mista.

"Funny, i used to get calls about guys like you all the time. How many times have i heard 'i was just givin' her a compliment!'." Abbacchio rolled his eyes.

"Hey, i'm not like those guys! I know how to keep my hands to myself!" Mista puffed. "Like now. You're the one inviting me out for a drink and a game. You ain't gettin' hands on me."

"You're too short." Abbacchio shrugged.

"Hah! I fuckin- Wait. What do you mean too short?!" Mista puffed angrily. "I'll have ya know i'm average height for an Italian man! You're the tall freak here!"

"I know that. But i like taller than you." Abbacchio shrugged.

"Damn. The ol' vino always bring this much harsh honesty out of you?" Mista whined.

"I thought i made as much clear. Brutal honesty's pretty standard for me." Abbacchio scoffed.

"Fair enough, fair enough." Mista sighed. "So why're you taking me, not Buccellati."

"Figured a change in drinkin' buddies would do me some good. And Buccellati said he'd come along later, but it looks like that's not the case today." Abbacchio answered simply. "Nothin' wrong with going out with a coworker for drinks and a game. And you seemed more focused on the food."

"Weeeeellll. Guess it is dinner time." Mista shrugged. The two fell into a comfortable silence, making their way towards some unknown destination of Abbacchio's choosing. "Think i'm gonna order me a Pizza Margherita. You?"

"Hmm. Probably make that two." Abbacchio hummed in thought. Mista had to hold back a laugh at the thought of a drunk Abbacchio with wine in one hand and pizza in the other.

Honestly he wished he could go out like this with the rest of the gang more often. Bruno emphasised secrecy in the group, but in all honesty at their base they were just as much coworkers as the common businessman. All this complexity about secrecy and the gang was just unnecessary padding on the whole mafia angle. Life should be simple, or so Mista thought. He too should have the right to go out with his gang members, hit on girls, drink, and watch futbol games same as the rest of Naples.

Though... up until Giorno joined, Mista had been 'the newbie' for the longest time. Suppose he didn't have as much right to question Bruno's secrecy element as much as someone like Abbacchio or Fugo did.

Speakin' of Giorno...

Wonder how the kid was doing. He'd seemed kinda nervous, around his Mom back at the Hotel. Who knew the kid had such a hot mom though. Normally Mista was too respectful for older women, but damn had this lady aged about as well as Abbacchio's wine rack. They have some exotic new skincare routine back there in Japan? Woman didn't have a single fine line or wrinkle to her eye whatsoever! What he wouldn't give to look like her at 50! Was she even 50? Not only didn't she have a single wrinkle or sign of thin skin, she had a full head of beautiful (h/c) hair, bright (e/c) eyes, and legs most Italian models would kill to have. It was literally like the woman had walked out of a skincare ad.

If he didn't know his boundaries, Mista would almost say he had a crush.

Almost.

"You'd better be drooling about the pizza Margherita. I'm not gonna let it slide if you go wandering off and leave my drunk ass there." Abbacchio huffed, glancing back his way.

"Yeah, yeah." Mista rolled his eyes, unbuttoning a top button on his shirt. Just as he'd started to turn the street corner after Abbacchio, he nearly collided straight into a young woman.

"Ack! Sorry! Sorry, bella!" Mista yelped, holding his hands out to catch her. The woman was shorter than she looked, though, and they ended up colliding hand in hand. "Heh! Are you an angel, cause i could've sworn you fell from heaven into my arms!" The girl just blinked back at him, with big blue eyes and short white hair. After a minute she seemed to realize what he said, and snorted into a laugh.

"Nice try, player." The girl gave a grin, stepping back politely. She must've come just from a club of some sort, from her thigh high dress and light jacket around her shoulders. Honestly she'd be getting all the wrong attention, dress like that. But suppose if she had the confidence to do such, she knew what she was doin'. So he let it slide.

"Nah! It's true! Face like that could only be the work of God himself!" Mista grinned, politely stepping back, barely noticing Abbacchio had stopped and was rolling his eyes his way.

"Try those lines down the street, grandpa." The girl laughed.

"Grandpa?! I'm only 17!" Mista gasped.

"Then you need to go back to pick up school. Those lines are so last year!" The girl giggled, a blush on her cheeks despite her words. "Girls like a man who's committed, now!"

"Ooh! You put a bullet in this grandpa's heart!" Mista whined, mock holding his chest.

"Hey. Playboy. Beer?" Abbacchio huffed, nodding towards a brightly lit building.

"I'm comin' i'm comin. My apologies, Bella. My coworker's a little pushy!" Mista laughed, stepping aside to let her pass.

"The Calzones are really good!" The girl shouted after him, before continuing on her way.

"Could you be anymore desperate." Abbacchio huffed.

"Gotta cast a wide net, these days! It's hard work, searchin' for true love! She might walk right on by, and i'd never know!" Mista grinned.

"So your tactic's just to fire blind and hope you hit your mark one day? That's how guys like you end up with the crazy ones." Abbacchio huffed.

"So maybe she's a little clingy! Nothin' the red string of fate can't fix!" Mista grinned. Abbacchio just shook his head, pushing his way into the packed bar with Mista after him. Apparently he was well known here too, seeing as a glass and a bottle was set down specially for him at the end of the bar, within perfect viewing. No Futbol tonight, but women's wrestling was on.

"Get me a glass, wouldja?" Mista grunted, seating himself on the bar stool with a groan of relief. "Damn, your favourite spot's a mile and a half!"

"It's well worth the walk. The pizza Margherita's not half bad, here." Abbacchio nodded, seating himself and running a hand along his cup. Mista shrugged, accepting a glass from the bartender and putting the bottle between the two, intently focused on the match. He wasn't particularly rooting for one girl or the other. They were both rather pretty, for wrestlers, anyhow. Suppose you had to be, on TV.

Just as commercial break hit, and Mista turned to order his food, he noticed something in the reflection of the whiskeys on the shelf. It looked like something was crawling out of the whiskeys, sloshing from one bottle to the next, seemingly moulding itself to fit underneath the watertight seals. Too fast for his human eye, anyhow. He glanced Abbacchio's way. Abbacchio hadn't noticed, eyes focused rather on the menu and questioning the bartender on one of the items.

Somebody in this bar had a stand. A creepy lookin' one too. And that stand was making it's way down the bar shelf, through the various beers and whiskeys. There was something he didn't like about this thing's face... The way it grinned and leered at him as it came closer and closer. Just what was this thing's game?!

"Hey, Abbacchio. Let's hop a different table, kay?" Mista muttered, taking his glass and the bottle towards a window seat. Abbacchio glanced up, confused, but seemingly complied, moving towards the window seat with him. Outside it had started raining rather hard outside. Maybe that creepy-ass stand would slip out the window and leave him alone. With a sigh he turned back Abbacchio's way, just as some cheese dip and chips were being set down for them. His stomach grumbled, reminding him of his missed midday meal just for this occasion.

"Nice dip." Mista said with a grin, grabbing a chip from the basket and starting to dig in, focusing back on the tv. That Stand seemed to be gone, at least. Maybe he could finally have a nice relaxing evening with-

There was a tug on his chip.

Glancing back towards the dip he nearly threw the little bowl right on the floor. Of course! Dip! Liquid cheese! This thing really had it out for him! In shock, he ended up dropping the chip right into the dip. The stand seemingly swallowed it up, the chip absorbing and disappearing right into the dip. What was he gonna do?! He couldn't just whip out The Pistols right here in a crowded bar! But this thing was gonna do him and Abbacchio in!

He had to find a way to...

His eyes glanced back to the window with the rain outside.

"Whoo! It's a little hot in here, isn't it? Let's go ahead and throw open a window." Mista fanned himself, as he found himself actually sweating a bit, from the pressure. Throwing open the window, he allowed the cool rainy air from outside to filter into the bar, earning a few sighs of relief and shivers from the other patrons. Go on, little Stand. Go outside in the rain and creep someone else-

There was a weight on his back. Glancing warily over his shoulder, he could see the liquid form, a putrid mix of whiskey, water, and god knows whatever liquids it'd been in in the past few minutes, in the form of a gremlin-like face grinning up at him from his back. And then pain. A sharp pain right into his ribs, like claws digging in.

"Hey. What's with that face?" Abbacchio grumbled, glancing from the TV towards Mista.

"..." What could he say? How could he tell Abbacchio? What did this thing even do?! 'Hey, there's a Stand on my back, i don't know what it's doing but it really fucking-'

"Mista! Mista!" Wha-

The Pistols had gathered around him. But something was... off. Their faces...

There was something wrong with his Pistols.

"Show 'im your back, Mista!" The Pistols chanted. "Show 'im, show 'im!"

"Hey, feed your Pistols already, would ya? They're gettin' annoying." Abbacchio huffed, sliding the chips his way.

"Show Abbacchio your back!" The Pistols cheered. Something wasn't right. He didn't know what... but something told him he couldn't show Abbacchio his back. At any cost.

"H-hey. I'm gonna go out for a smoke, okay?" Mista stood quickly, backing away from the table.

"Uh... You don't-" Abbacchio blinked.

"I just need some air, okay?!" Mista huffed, following the line of booths towards the door.

"Are you okay? Do you want to-" Abbacchio started to stand up.

"I'm fine! It's just really really stuffy in here, ya know! I need to breathe a bit!" Mista called, pushing his way through a couple of people and out into the front. With a sigh of relief, he collapsed against the wall, breathing hard. Damn! He had to get this thing off him! The Pistols kept telling him to 'show his back'. Was that how this worked?! It just hopped from user to user?! Where was it even trying to go?! What did it want out of the Pistols?!

There was a sharp gash in his hand. And then his arm. He glanced up. The Stand! It was climbing atop his Pistols, using them to get closer and closer, towards the rain. What kinda shit even was that?!

"Hey! Knock it off, would ya?!" Mista yelled, trying to swipe at the Stand. His hand flew right through the stand, molding around to avoid his hand and keep climbing towards the rain.

This thing!

"Grrrr! You little-" Mista drew his gun, not even minding the patrons inside anymore, firing off one, two, three rounds at the Stand.

It was like a domino effect.

Each of the pistols ganged up, protecting the Stand and kicking the bullets away, into various directions towards shop windows, home windows.

This thing could control the Pistols?!

What was he supposed to do?! The Pistols were outta his hands! Hell, he couldn't even set hand on the Stand! He might as well be as good as Standless, right now!

The claws in his back dug deeper, and the Pistols started rearranging themselves to help the Stand reach the rainfall and make it's escape. So it was just gonna put him through all that shit, take his dear Pistols from him, and then think it could slink away?!

... This thing couldn't do damage. Not by itself. It piggybacked.

It was like a holy awakening for Mista. He'd been afraid of something that couldn't even fight back.

His back...

Mista aimed the gun again, this time aiming for Number 5 of the Pistols.

"Sorry bout this guys, i'll getcha all the Salami you want after this!" Mista gulped, before firing.

One. Two.

If this thing was as weak as it seemed. It should be enough. God, let it be enough.

As expected, Five kicked it to Three. Three kicked it to Two. Two kicked it away.

"Don't you get it, Mista?! You can't get away!" The pistols chanted.

"All you can do is show your back! Get it Mista? Get it?!" Number 1 laughed.

"Yeah. I get it. I gotta show my back." Mista sighed with a smile, pushing off the wall, and starting to turn around, facing the window.

"Show your back! Show your back! Show your- Eh?" The Pistols paused, as there was a distant 'ding'. And then another. And then another.

With a whizz, one bullet came flying past the Pistols, right into Mista's back.

There was a shriek from the Stand, as one claw loosened it's grip on Mista's ribs.

"It's hot, huh? Force alone can make a bullet pretty hot. But the rain doesn't change the core. So all you can do is just steam, steam, steam away." Mista laughed as the Stand dropped from his back, a steaming puddle.

"Limp away all you like. Your User's probably writing right about now. Maybe it'll teach ya a lesson about hopping onto an Assassin's back!" Mista chuckled as the Stand hopped from it's puddle form out into the rain, where it disappeared down the drain.

"Mista, Mista! We're sorry! We're so sorry!" The pistols gathered in his hands, practically bawling.

"Nah, it's alright guys. You guys actually did me a favour back there. If you hadn't kicked that bullet away, i'd be a goner! So don't cry, alright?!" Mista grinned, petting the pistols on the heads. "Let's go get you guys some salami, okay? You guys did pretty good, today!"

* * *

"I... I think we lost it, guys." (Y/n) sighed, as the rain started coming down. They'd somehow chased it towards an empty street of Villa's, not far from the coastal view.

"It's probably escaped into this rain." Buccellati sighed. "Who knows what sort of damage it's caused. It'll probably be back, soon enough. How about we head back to the hotel, and you can explain this, proper."

"It's a long story." (Y/n) sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"I've got time." Buccellati hummed, nodding.

"If you insist... Giorno, you want me to drop you off?" (Y/n) turned Giorno's way, whose hair and nice suit was now being soaked through by the rain.

"Probably how this night was going to end from the beginning... Okay." Giorno nodded, looking worriedly at the clouds, as if the Stand was going to hop from mid-raindrop down on their heads. Alas, it didn't seem so.

*Stand: Cancer

Unknown User.

Status: RETIRED*


	7. Chapter 7

"Sign there." (Y/n) pointed to another line on the paper. "And write your information here and here."

"Bank's busy this morning. Wonder what's going on." Giorno mumbled, noting the small line forming next to them at the checker window, Giorno awkwardly hunched over his own form on the side, with (Y/n) guiding him through the process.

"You're happening, kid. Remember?" (Y/n) mumbled. "Much of the account's in cash."

"Cash?" Giorno looked surprised.

"He didn't particularly trust banks. Or anyone, for that matter." (Y/n) shrugged.

"Sounds like him." Giorno sighed.

"Don't go nuts, now, when i hand all this over." (Y/n) said sternly, like a mother warning a child about wasting their allowance.

"You don't trust me?" Giorno said with a sceptical look.

"I do. But I've got bad memories from Dio. I'd hate to see a nice kid like you turn out like that." (Y/n) muttered. Giorno on the other hand was a bit touched. She cared about his future? They'd barely known each other for a few weeks, and he wasn't even her son, for starters.

"So little faith in me." Giorno commented, continuing filling out the form.

"When you've lived as long as i have, you learn not to invest in people." (Y/n) sighed.

"How old are you, anyhow." Giorno asked curiously. (y/n) paused, and seemed to be counting off on her fingers.

"... 138." (Y/n) seemed to have come to a final number, now turning to Giorno.

"And you've avoided the sun this whole time?" Giorno said sceptically.

"Not quite avoided it. But i adapted." (Y/n) pulled a bottle of sunscreen from her purse. "SPF 200. Been my best friend since the 50's."

"I was expecting older." Giorno said after a while.

"How old did you assume i was?!" You pouted.

"I was wagering somewhere in the 500's." Giorno chuckled. You held a hand to your cheek in mock distress.

"Giorno! Giorno!" Narancia and Fugo had appeared seemingly from nowhere, Narancia nearly tackling Giorno and getting weird looks from the rest of the bank. "Bruno told us ya got jumped last night! What did they take?! What'd they look like! We'll teach those fuckers a lesson!"

"Nobody took anything, Narancia." Giorno sighed. "And there's no one to 'teach a lesson'." Giorno sighed. "The problem resolved itself."

"Well if we don't teach em, the idiotas of this town are just gonna think you're an easy mark! That's why you've got us!" Narancia said, pointing at himself and Fugo. "Next time you go out, we're going with you!"

"That's sweet Narancia." (Y/n) said with a fond smile. "But he doesn't need bodyguards. He needs his friends." Narancia stopped mid rant, finally noticing you and immediately standing straighter.

"Miss!" Narancia gave a brighter smile at you.

"What brings you two here?" Y/n asked curiously.

"Fugo's gotta drop off his cut! And then he needs some rent money, right Fugo?" Narancia turned to the taller teen. The teen just nodded, already making his way towards the back of the line. "What'cha got there Giorno?" Narancia peered over the papers, and immediately saw the words 'Will and Testament'.

"Signing over the money. It'll take a while for it all to pour in, as well as he's gotta get all of the deeds together for Dio's various estates, but from here on, what he wants to do with it is up to him." (Y/n) explained.

"You gonna let us see one of these estates, one of these days?" Narancia teased.

"It's been 10 years. The place is probably run down." Giorno said, signing off his name again on another page. The group fell into a comfortable silence, Narancia watching over his shoulder curiously. You excused yourself, pulling a cigar from your pocket and making your way outside the bank. You could recall the last time you were here, with Joseph. He'd made a grave for Caesar, here in Naples, his home. What had taken Caesar so long to come back, you had to wonder. Joseph would be less than pleased, sure, but Caesar was his friend. You had to wonder if maybe Caesar had a stand, earlier than any of you. It had been a heavy stone, you remembered, but that would be nothing to a stand, as you knew now yourself. You'd heard of it, in rare instances. People unlocking their stands under high stress environments, or near death situations. You had to wonder what kind of Stand Caesar had summoned, at the last minute. He'd be... what, well into his 80's? Nothing a little hamon wouldn't fix.

You took a long puff of the cigar, willing the thoughts away with the smoke.

You were here to close the book on Dio, and hopefully keep the Red Stone of Aja away from being paired with the stand arrows. However you planned to do that. You had to keep an air of confidence, for Giorno, and for Caesar. With hope, your half cocked plan would go off without a hitch, and you wouldn't have to come face to face with Nirvana. You could handle weak, new stand users. Even if she had the nerve to still send them, when you went home to Jolyne. You'd be ready. Giorno would be fine.

Or so you told yourself.

Putting out the cigar with a flick, you took a moment to watch passersby. It'd been a while since you last fed. At least since back in Japan. You needed to feed, before you hit the road again. Scanning the crowd, you took a moment, letting the mix of scents fill your nose.

"Wryyyyyyy..." you let out a low growl, one particular scent filling your nose and making your mouth water. Not a stand user, but healthy young man, mid 20's, solid heart beat, a bit low blood pressure. Might be anaemic, but right now you didn't particularly care.

"You're drooling." You jumped, seeing Giorno was now sitting by your side, watching the people as well.

"Y-you finished the paperwork?" You mumbled, wiping your lip ungraciously.

"Yes. They'll be filing it for the next couple of weeks, and then i should start seeing the money." Giorno said, glancing over at you now. "If you've got to eat, then eat."

"Hmm?" You blinked in surprise.

"The look in your eyes, it's hungry. If it's part of your condition, just go." Giorno waved you off, not seeming to show much fear or concern.

"You're sure? You can find your own way home? Oh. What am i saying. You've got Narancia and Fugo." You chuckled, making your way after the smell. "I'll be heading out to visit my friend later! Likely won't be back until the early morning! I'll take the train, no worries!" You called after Giorno, before disappearing into the crowd.

"You shouldn't be-" Giorno began to protest, but you were already gone.

"So. Bucciarati said there's a big bad stand user looking to stir the pot." Narancia and Fugo had appeared next to him, the three of you looking where you'd disappeared.

"How much did Bucciarati tell you guys?" Giorno sighed.

"Everything." Fugo shrugged. "Hey, when it comes to Passione, one person's problem is everyone's."

"And I presume Bucciarati said to stay out of it." Giorno gave them both a stern look.

"Yep." Narancia said, practically bouncing on his heels.

"And you're not going to do that." Giorno sighed seeing Narancia's expression.

"No." Fugo said simply. "And we know you're not going to just leave it be either."

"What's got you two so worked up over this. She said she can handle it, and if it does get out, then there's a few more powerful users than there were before." Giorno said simply.

"And Bruno gets in trouble for knowing about it and doing nothin'." Narancia pouted. "It's not like you to ignore the problem, Giorno."

"... I suppose not." A crack. A small crack as Giorno now gave a brief flash of concern. "And what do you suggest we do, Narancia?" Narancia looked surprised for a moment, before smirking.

"She said she's hoppin' on a train to visit her friend, right? All we have to do is be on that train." Narancia said smugly.

"We don't know where she's headed." Fugo reminded him, crossing his arms.

"Paris." Giorno mumbled. "She was messaging him last night. I guess telling him she was coming. The area code was in Paris."

"Well?! We're goin' ta Paris!" Narancia said with an excited cheer.

* * *

"Here. Lady Nirvana." the rather young woman turned into the train compartment, taking her seat with the large hulking man's assistance.

"I can still see somewhat, Santana. You don't need to help with everything." Nirvana said with a motherly smile, Santana taking the seat across from her. He'd been forced to cover up rather extremely, from a head wrap and hat to a long black trench coat. It was the sort of disguise that Kars would've preferred, honestly. Nirvana shifted, bringing the rather old cloak more around her shoulders.

"The Stand User reported back." Santana said in a rather dull tone. He never had been rather expressive. Or talkative for that matter.

"And i presume she failed." Nirvana mumbled, tapping the ancient stone stick. Santana gave a grunt of acknowledgement.

"The human is persistent." Santana said. "Allow me to confront them, Lady Nirvana."

"No. It would merely result in your death, or grave defeat. Allow the Bow and Arrow to take it's course with the Stand Users we have created. You're of far more use by my side than confronting my enemies. I shall need you if the Stand Users fail." Nirvana mumbled.

"You are too protective, Lady Nirvana. Allow me to prove my worth, as a warrior." Santana said humbly, Nirvana turning her head back towards his voice.

"No. I've merely learned from Kars' mistakes. He sent Esidisi against the Hamon users, years ago. This resulted in Esidisi's death. I'm not fool enough repeat such a mistake." Nirvana said sternly.

"My apologies. Lady Nirvana." Santana said, bowing his head. "... you were in the Great Cold, through all of this, yes?"

"Russia. You must acknowledge the human land's names if we are ever to blend in, Santana." Nirvana chuckled. "But yes... I went further, when Kars and the others sent themselves into the Long Sleep in Rome. If the Stone were ever to migrate from Rome, or should Rome be conquered, i should say, We'd make something of a team effort, i would search the great north and the East. I sat in the human city, as a statue, for so long. i don't think they knew i was watching. I watched. Learned. Eventually took on their customs when i woke. And look at you, I've passed those customs on to you."

"And i owe you my life, for such kindness, Lady Nirvana." Nirvana couldn't help a smile at his words.

"I'm not Kars, Santana. I don't seek praise at every step, at least not from you." Nirvana said fondly. "I admit, i'm actually quite eager to see just how far the human will go to save her kind."

"You wish our demise, Lady Nirvana?" Santana asked plainly.

"Oh no! Far from it! But i'm curious just how far the human will go to stop me. Kars death was unfortunate, but inevitable, given his approach. But he served as a valuable lesson." Nirvana said, her smile dropping.

"And that is?" Santana mumbled, tugging at the headscarf and lowering the hat as several people passed their compartment.

"Kars killed our people for their fear of the masks. This led him to eliminating fear. But that very same lack of fear led to his demise against the humans. Therefore the only solution is to face the humans, with fear. We must prepare ourselves, for the battle to come. And face them, with equal determination." Nirvana said, leaning in her seat her blind eyes deep in thought.

"An Ultimate Mastery?" Santana suggested.

"That's certainly a start. But the humans will be facing us with something we do not have. It would be akin to facing a spear man with a knife. It's simply impossible. Impractical." Nirvana shook her head. "We must find a way to infuse ourselves with these 'stands'. It simply won't do to face them without."

"Lady Nirvana. Allow me to face the human. At the very least i should be able to throw her off of the trail." Santana asked again. Nirvana gave a warning growl his way, the blind eyes narrowing into an impatient glare.

"... Of course. My apologies, Lady Nirvana." Santana mumbled, bowing his head once again.

"You are forgiven." Nirvana said, her tone calming. "Allow our stand user to do his part. I have a different job, for you." Santana got off the seat, kneeling before her with his head bowed.

"Anything you ask, Lady Nirvana."

* * *

You startled awake, feeling a hand on your shoulder.

"Mrs. Kujo?" The attendant was looking at you with worry, as it took you a moment to process the language. "There's a phone call for you, in the first car." You cleared your throat, sitting up.

"Um... thank you." You mumbled, standing from your seat.

"Are you okay, ma'am? You look quite distressed." The attendant asked with a look of concern.

"I... uh.. bad dream." You mumbled, running a hand through your hair. The attendant seemed to accept this answer, as you followed him through the cars to the front. It was just out of the corner of your eye, but you swore you saw a flash of golden blonde hair. Stopping, you took a step back to glance into the compartment. Now the blonde hair was short and black, and the person was wearing a rather worn looking red winter coat, draped around their shoulders like a blanket. Suppose it was hot for a winter coat, but you'd seen stranger fashions. Shaking your head, you continued down the car, glancing at passing passengers. You could've sworn there was something you were forgetting. A threat looming over the train. Someone you were looking for... Who was it? You searched your memory for your dream. You remembered... you'd been on the train. It'd been empty. But something had scared you, about the dream. What had it been?

You were taken up to the front compartment, a little nook where a phone and a small snack area were set aside. Taking the call off hold, you held it up to your ear.

"Hello?" You asked.

"Mommy!" You smiled immediately, hearing Jolyne's voice over the phone.

"Sweetheart! How on earth did you get this number?" You said, slightly surprised.

"Daddy found it, said one of his old friends gave him the number." Oh Polnareff. Man somehow knew exactly what you needed, when you needed it.

"Did you just get home from school?" You said with a smile.

"Uh huh! Daddy picked me up, and then we went to eat! He got me a ginormous hamburger, mommy! And then he took me to the arcade where i won against him at Air Hockey!" She recalled the events excitedly.

"Is that so. Daddy sure is nice!" You chuckled, with a slight smile. Even with the 10 years of absence, Jotaro was doing his very best to make up for every one of those years to his daughter and you. It verged on spoiling, at times, but if it made Jotaro and Jolyne smile, it was good enough for you.

"How is Cousin Giorno?!" You smiled at the mention. Ever since she'd learned she had a cousin she'd been begging to meet Giorno, thinking they could be the best of friends. You'd explained, of course, that Giorno was much older, and had an adult job that kept him very busy, but she wasn't deterred in the slightest. You found yourself considering letting them meet, supervised. Perhaps it'd be good for Giorno, to reach out to his extended family. And maybe find a bit of Joestar in himself as well.

"He's good. He's very very busy with his job here in Italy. He's doing a lot of work for his... company." You had to restrain from mentioning 'gang'.

"Well tell him to finish soon! I want him to come over soon!" Jolyne huffed.

"He's very busy Jolyne. His company depends a lot on him, like Daddy and Mommy's job depends on us. He's gotta be gone, a lot." You explained gently. "I'll get him to visit, sometime when he's got less work, okay? You two can play together! Ooh! You can show him your shell collection." You suggested with a smile.

"If i send him one, do you think he'd come?!" Jolyne perked at the idea.

"I think he'd love it!" You chuckled. "Is Daddy there? Think i can speak to him while you pick out a shell for Giorno? He really likes Ladybugs. I think he'd like the Spotted Slipper Snail one."

"Okay mommy!" Jolyne could be heard running in the background, presumably to get said shell as you could hear a 'Yare yare daze' on the other end now.

"Hello to you too." You chuckled softer.

"You found Giorno okay?" Jotaro said on the other end, his own voice softening, slightly.

"He's... different than the picture. His hair went blonde. Insists he didn't dye it, it turned that way after his father died. But he's got the looks, that's for certain." You leaned against the wall, now looking behind you at the cars.

"Makes you think?" Jotaro asked.

"A little. Can't believe i'm showing such concern over a kid that's not even mine, let alone Dio didn't even wait for me. But he's... different. He's got ambition, but would rather have a ladder of people supporting him, than a pile of bodies to climb. Does that sound insane?" You chuckled.

"Makes sense, if you think about it. You said he's gone into the local mafia, right? Gangster? It's more profitable to have the town in your debt than go around kicking people who don't pay up." Jotaro said, along with what sounded like the squeak of his office chair.

"You sure you didn't join the Yakuza after Egypt?" You sighed with a smile.

"Considered it, actually. And then Gramps told me to get my head out of my ass and go to college like a normal teenage boy." Jotaro gave a low chuckle.

"And it turned out for the best too. I won't have my daughter with a giant Yakuza target on her back." You huffed with mock sternness.

"So you'd prefer a Stand user target over a Yakuza one." Jotaro said with a chuckle.

"At least Stand Users i can fend off." You sighed.

"Speaking of which. How's it coming." Jotaro said, speaking more seriously.

"On the train to go talk with Polnareff now. With hope, Caesar's still around to even give me the Stone, or point me where it might be. I'm not trusting anything with the Speedwagon Foundation anymore after this." You grumbled.

"You talkin' about the fiasco with Santana? They made it pretty clear, it was a break in." Jotaro said.

"It shouldn't have been so easy to do such." You sighed.

"Since when is a vault a problem for a Stand User." Jotaro pointed out.

"... I suppose." You sighed. "So the plan is to talk it over with Polnareff. Get an idea of where Caesar's been. Rumours indicate Air Supplena island, but no guarantee he's there now. With hope, Caesar's been protecting the stone for the past couple of years, and might know something i can use against Nirvana or Santana. From there... well. We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

"Solid enough, i suppose." Jotaro said. "I've missed you, you know. We've missed you." His voice had dropped to a seductive growl.

"Jotaro. Not on a public line." You whined, but couldn't hold back a smile.

"I'm just stating that I've missed you. You're my wife. I'm allowed to do that, right?" Jotaro chuckled. "I thought about you. Last night, in fact."

"Jotaro!" You whined, but held back a red faced giggle.

"I thought about your legs. You've got some damned fine legs, you know that? You know how hard it was not to stare, when we got those dumb ass camels?" Jotaro chuckled.

"Jotaro. Not on a public line! I'm on a damned train!" You whined.

"You're not on speaker, right?" Jotaro chuckled.

"No but they can see my face!" You huffed.

"Well don't look so embarrassed. Just a nice chat with your husband who you haven't seen in a while." Jotaro smirked. "Anyhow. Your fine legs. Fine ass too."

"Just fine? That ass has been aged a hundred years, you know." You mumbled, keeping your voice down.

"You're right. That was a bad one. It's a fine, round, plump, full ass with just enough grab for some leverage. Fits your hand just perfectly. And when you smack it..." There was a growl in his voice as there was a sound like him slapping his thigh.

"Oh. Just my legs and my ass, hmm?" You said smugly.

"You're right. I left the most important part. Those wonderful hands of yours." Jotaro chuckled.

"My hands?" You blinked in surprise, glancing at your hand for a moment.

"Yeah... You've got soft little calluses, along your palms. Makes for a nice little extra. And you've got some rather long fingers. Not all muscular, like mine. Something you don't expect, out of a close range strength stand like Iron Maiden. Delicate fingers, like a lifelong writer. Never done a day of hard lifting or punching in her life." Jotaro chuckled, his voice low. "You know, we talked about it, but you should invite Iron Maiden, sometime."

"You haven't invited Star Platinum." You countered with a red blush.

"Didn't seem fair if it was just me having all the fun." Jotaro chuckled. "When you get back. We should."

"We'll talk about it. I want to set down some rules, to prevent what happened last time. You know. The time loop?" You mumbled with a smirk. He gave a frustrated groan at the memory, before letting out a soft chuckle.

"I'll talk to you in a bit. I'll try to time it a bit better, babe, okay?" Jotaro said, his voice soft again. "Give my regards to Polnareff. Maybe encourage Giorno to visit again. He might be Dio's kid, but it'd be nice to be able to expand the family tree a bit. The old man's getting on about more grandchildren."

"Caesar always did want a big family." You chuckled. "Talk to you later. I love you."

"I love you more." Jotaro said, with such fondness that you could almost literally feel your heart melting in your chest. The two of you kissed, through the phone, before handing up. While you were certain there was a big red blush on your face, you were almost smiling like a fool when you made your way back to the compartment. You passed the same compartment from before. There it was again! The golden blonde! Turning your head to look through the window, you could see none other than the golden spirals of Giorno's hair, in the same red coat from before, accompanied by Narancia and Fugo. With a growl, you threw the door open, causing the three to jump and turn.

"You followed me." You pointed accusingly at Giorno.

"I did say i was going to help." Giorno said, calmly, while Narancia cowered and even Fugo shifted over to the far edge of the seat.

"And I said i had it!" You huffed. "You didn't have to get involved! It just paints a bigger target on my back to Nirvana and Santana!"

"And you admitted facing Nirvana alone with Nirvana having gained a stand and the arrows was the worst possible scenario." Giorno said plainly. "For that, i think it'd be reckless to think you could face her alone."

"And if she gets the arrows, there's a huge power struggle all through Passione! And Bruno gets in trouble for knowing and not doing anything! Total war!" Narancia piped in, looking worried at such a thought.

You sighed. They both had good points. You couldn't face Nirvana alone, much as it'd be better that way.

"And you Fugo?" You turned to Fugo, giving a raised eyebrow.

"I can't let anything happen to my brothers, Narancia or Giorno. And like Narancia said. Stand arrows that can boost weak stands and create new, powerful ones? Passione would be cut down in a week, maybe less. Hell, maybe even some members of Passione would take part, try to seize power. The whole tree gets thrown out of balance." Fugo said calmly. "Especially when the other gangs start pushing back as well."

You fell silent, looking out the window in thought. Italy in war, over some Stand Arrows infused with the Red Stone of Aja. You didn't really want to imagine it, but you knew it would be a long, bloody war. The carnage you'd witnessed, in the Great Wars, wouldn't compare to an all out Stand war.

Outside was growing dark, with the approaching evening, you glanced out the window at the passing countryside. You couldn't see yourself, of course. You hadn't seen your own reflection in... you couldn't even recall.

"Mrs Kujo?" You blinked again.

"S-sorry. What were you saying?" You mumbled, rubbing your neck.

"You're bleeding, ma'am." Fugo said worried, as Giorno stood up, summoning Gold Experience to touch your neck, fixing the wound.

"Uh... yeah. Weird, huh? Might've nicked myself, somewhere." You said awkwardly, holding your newly healed neck.

"Are you sure?" Giorno's face remained blank, but you knew him well enough to know he was sharp. He was suspicious.

"Uh... yeah. I'm fine. Barely felt it!" You chuckled awkwardly. "Anyhow. Suppose i'll trudge back to my compartment. Try to stay out of trouble, would you three? We've got a couple of hours to go till Paris." You sighed, making your way back.


	8. Chapter 8

"You're certain what you saw?" Risotto sighed, giving a tight tug towards Maria's arm.

"Yeah. A watery gremlin-lookin' thing comin' out of a beer can." Maria nodded firmly. "Aggggh! Gentle!" Maria huffed as Risotto started double wrapping her wrist.

"It was probably the guy's stand. Probably trying to throw you off your game." Melone came through the video chat, his voice echoing through the shared hotel room.

"If that's the case why'd he just steal my marker and run away back into the sewer?" Maria huffed. "Specially when he's being chased."

"Probably like you said. A weak Stand that realised what it was in for." Risotto mumbled, starting to pin the bandaging together.

"Maybe. I dunno. Felt too fishy to just be the guy's Stand." Maria sighed in thought.

"Heh! Fishy. Water... nobody? C'mon! That joke was gift wrapped!" Ghaccio yelled from the other end of the line.

"Back on point." Maria cleared her throat. "I'm gonna give the boss a call. Figure we can earn a day off, at least. Brb." Maria sighed, muting the chat. "You. Scat." Maria waved Risotto off, who didn't budge. Just as she had the pointer over the chat labeled 'Boss', Prosciutto came back in, with requested snacks and drinks.

"You two. Get gone." Maria puffed, waving the two off. Neither one left. "I'm serial, guys. Super secret chatroom."

"What's the matter with an early peek." Risotto shrugged.

"Are you serious?! I'll get in huge trouble! The whole reason you're stuck with me is cause you guys are snoops." Maria puffed.

"They don't need to know that." Proscuitto shrugged. "Really, what's the harm?"

"He can probably see through the chat cam-" Prosciutto picked up a spare marker from her bag, proceeding to black out the computer's camera atop the laptop.

"You're the one all for transparency. Why not show a little yourself." Prosciutto shrugged. Maria huffed, but relented, opening the chat window.

_'Job's done.'_

_103875 is typing..._

_'Messy. You left a real big splatter all over Capuchin Avenue.'_

_'Well. Target forced us to improvise. You didn't mention he knew about Stands.'_

_103875 is typing..._

_'That should be a given. You should expect such by now.'_

_'Right... -_-' Anyhow. We're probably splitting ways after this. We definitely need to skip town after that one.'_

_103875 is typing..._

_..._

_103875 is typing..._

_'I've got a job for you, personally. If you're looking for overtime, that is.'_

_'What's that.'_

_'There's something i'm interested in obtaining. I'm well aware of your family's history with the Red Stone of Aja. As such, i'm also familiar with the fact that Passione began as a gang of Hamon users. By extension, that makes the Red Stone of Aja Passione's property, rightfully.'_

_'Red Stone of Aja. Pretty sure i made myself abundantly clear on the subject.'_

_'You did. And it's understandable, what with your Uncle's disappearance and the Zeppeli's history with the Pillar Men. But in order for that Stone to be even close to being safe, it's best in Passione's property. I'll pay handsomely.'_

_'Hmm. Maybe.'_

_'I'm under the understanding that our own Buccellati has taken interest in it as well. I believe he'll be taking a train this morning, to collect it. I want you to be on that train. Bring your cell along. or don't. As long as that stone's in my hands.'_

_'Right. And what could you possibly need it for. I know this isn't out of concern for Hamon treasures.'_

_'You should know better than to ask that, girl.'_

_"Yeah, yeah. Worth a shot. Right. I'll get it, i suppose. Anything you can give me on the subject?'_

_'Only what i've said here. I'm sending the rest to a file through Melone. Please ensure he doesn't delete it.'_

_'Can't do that if i'm not there. But alright. I'll see what i can work with.'_

_103875 has left the chat._

"There. Now you've met the boss." Maria sighed, setting the laptop aside with a sigh.

"You're doing this alone?" Melone's voice came through, having managed to un mute himself over the chat.

"Yeah. Probably better that way." Maria hummed, nodding.

"You mean finding your uncle, right." Prosciutto muttered, peeling back the skin of an orange.

"..." Maria huffed, turning back to the laptop to open various windows. "The rest of you go ahead and split town. I'll... figure something out with this."

"Do you even want to go get this thing and put it in his hands?"Risotto asked.

"Not particularly, honestly. That thing shouldn't be in anyone's hands. If anything i hope to god it's completely useless after what it went through." Maria sighed scrolling through document after document.

"Suppose if anything, think of it as a way to draw the Boss out." Prosciutto shrugged, causing the other two to stop. "Think about it. After you have it, he will no doubt ask for you to come and bring it to him, personally. If he gives you a meeting place, or an address, we can just backtrack from there, and maybe find something."

"Possible. But remember. Her Uncle's lived off the grid for ages. The boss most certainly could too." Risotto sighed.

"My Uncle's got an excuse. He was in Tibet for ages just getting his legs working again. The Boss..." Maria hummed, crossing her arms in thought.

" What a letdown that'd be. Big bad Passione Boss turns out to be a paraplegic." Prosciutto shrugged.

"Stranger things have happened. Though i kinda feel bad punching a cripple in the face." Maria sighed. "Anyhow. He never shows his face."

"Wait you've met the guy?!" The two looked back at her in shock.

"Once. Twice." Maria shrugged. "He's got a respect for a family name, but that's about where it ends. Kinda how i got stuck with you lot in the first place. But back on point. Yeah. I've never figured if this guy's like the boss boss. He comes off as a little secretary, the way he acts. It's like this tiny little pink haired guy, with some freaky brown eyes. Think he called himself Doppio? He's the only one I've ever actually talked to, when I've had such an invitation." Maria hummed, her brows squinting in thought as the two leaned in interest.

"Thing is though, i don't know if this guy's just playing dumb cause it's easy or if he's actually that dumb. I mean, i can do it too, but this guy takes it to a whole new level. But Brick in the Wall doesn't work on him. I know that much." Maria hummed.

"You tried Brick In The Wall on him?" Risotto gave a look of scepticism. Or the closest thing to it, with his face.

"Figured it would be a pretty safe experiment. And well... I can't tell if the guy just really can't read or what, but i can tell you it was fruitless." Maria sighed. "It was strange. I've never had that problem, before."

"Guy's definitely playing dumb." Prosciutto frowned. "Being completely immune to a stand is something new."

"All the more reason to get to know him, right?" Melone came through, along with what sounded like the beeping of a microwave.

"You guys're biting off more than you can chew. And that's all that i'm going to say on the matter." Maria huffed, glaring slightly.

"Hey, hey! What's with that look. Don't tell me you're defending the man." Melone jeered.

"I'm not... defending him. But let's just say my self preservation tells me it's a bad thing to walk into." Maria sighed, setting the laptop down on the bed to stand up, before taking a piece of tape out of her bag and putting it over the camera.

"Hey, Hey! What's with the view-blocker?!" Melone whined.

"Perv alert." Maria scoffed. "You two. OUT!" Maria huffed, pointing to the door. "And pick me up some Givenche No. 2 blush, some Chanel heels, and Oreos. Oh. And pens. Or markers. Whichever kind looks good." Maria huffed, pushing the two out and locking the door after them.

"Whooo. It's easy to forget under that pretty face you can be a real tightass." Formaggio laughed from the other end of the chat.

"Shaddup." Maria huffed. "Melone. See if you can get me a seat on that train."

* * *

"Damn, Melone. Way to get me the packed train." Maria huffed into the cellphone, pulling her suitcase along the packed compartments.

"You said you wanted it as soon as possible." Melone said, with something that sounded like noodles slapping beside the microphone.

"I did..." Maria huffed, glancing again down at her ticket. Compartment 37-A. Singular seating. She didn't figure such a thing existed, but privacy was important, here. Without even noticing, she ended up bumping shoulders with a kid in a pink suit.

"Sorry." The kid mumbled, the two trying to squeeze past each other in the tight space of the crowding. Maria sighed, pressing herself against the wall allowing him to pass. As soon as he was out of sight, she clasped the ID closer in her hand. Giorno Giovanna. 15 years old. Lived here in Naples. The hair in the photo was black, but he'd been blonde when he passed her. Hmm.

37-A. Here we were. There was rather loud talking in the next compartment, but overall the room was quiet once she'd shut the door. Pulling the privacy curtain, she'd opened her luggage, fishing out the laptop and ripping off the duct tape off the camera. Just as she'd gotten settled there was a knocking on the door. Had that kid noticed already?

"Pardon the interruption, Miss Zeppeli. But we need a quick security search of your belongings." A soft female voice came through, speaking rather bluntly.

Security dog. Ah, shit.

"Alright, alright." Maria sighed, closing the laptop and opening the door.

"Please step back as far from your belongings as possible, ma'am." A large, black German Shepard pushed it's way into the compartment, immediately sniffing the bag and the area around it, rather thoroughly. Damn this dog was intense. The dog's blue eyes stood out against it's black coat, staring her down. It moved closer, eyes locked onto hers.

"Pardon the question, ma'am." The attendant asked, timidly picking up the abandoned ID. "Why do you have someone else's ID?"

"That's... Er... My boyfriend. I just keep it around. It's old." Maria grumbled, looking away embarrassed.

"Of course. My apologies." The attendant mumbled shyly, setting the ID down among her things. The dog pulled her along by it's leash, sniffing her up from feet up. Something... everything about this dog was just weird. Admittedly she'd only been at this La Squadra business for a few months, and not nearly enough time to call herself a professional, let alone 'Capo'. La Squadra had been dumped in her lap, and that was the story.

But she'd learned in a short time, Stand Users gave each other vibes. It was a hard vibe to describe, and often times harder to pinpoint. But she was getting hard vibes from this dog. But a dog Stand user?

That was just paranoia... Right?

Sniff.

Sniff, sniff.

Pause.

The dog backed off, giving a gruff bark of 'okay'. Inwardly, she let out an involuntary sigh of relief. She'd been through many patdowns in her life, and even more so drug dogs.

But this one made her more nervous than any of those. This dog was definitely a Stand User. And it was holding back.

"Again, my apologies. Enjoy your trip, ma'am." the attendant mumbled shyly, pulling the dog along out of the compartment and leaving her alone to her privacy once more.


	9. Chapter 9

"So how exactly is your 'Ace', going to help us if he's a dog." Giorno bent over your shoulder, glancing down at the kennel inbetween you two.

"Don't underestimate him! He can sniff out Stands." You huffed. "And besides, he's a friend of mine. Be nice about it."

"How'd you even get a dog on the train." Giorno huffed.

"Never underestimate Speedwagon's influence." You said with a smug look, hopping between cars as the tracks clattered beneath you.

"What'd you call him? Iggy?" Giorno sighed, bending to look the Boston Terrier in the eye, through the grates. He didn't seem like much, at first. A Boston Terrier with a mechanical leg and big blue eyes and a perpetual snarl. She'd mentioned he'd be bad tempered, but this...

'What're you lookin' at, human? Think this is some kinda peep show?!' Iggy glared in between bites of Coffee Flavoured gum. Giorno sighed, standing straighter following you back to your compartment. Sure, Cancer had gotten away, but they hardly needed a tracker dog to be on guard. And any new stand users would sieze the opportunity anyhow. So honestly there wasn't much Iggy should be able to do, defence-wise.

"So what's with the other package? Not spare clothes?" Giorno asked, glancing down at the package in her hands. This time she got a slight red to her cheeks, and wouldn't look at him.

"Hey... What's in there anyhow?" Giorno narrowed his eyes her way.

"Personal items. From home. Nothing a kid like you needs to see!" You chuckled awkwardly, still refusing to look at him.

"Who're you calling a kid? What's in there." Giorno huffed.

"Well... Let's just say Speedwagon is an elite group capable of keeping track of Nirvana. Grabbing my favourite brand of underwear is the least they could do." You huffed.

"A favourite brand of- You're kidding me." Giorno blinked in confusion.

"Not this time. It- it's a special request, is all. Who knows what could happen with the next stand user. And i'm picky about my underwear choice, okay?" You huffed.

"They go to these lengths for you and don't ask for any compensation at all...?" Giorno raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "I'll never understand the SPW Foundation..."

"Well... to put it bluntly..." You chuckled awkwardly.

_'They're the Joestah Family Stahlkers.'_ Iggy barked.

"They really really like the Joestar Family." You sighed with a smile. "It's a requirement. They must be as devoted to the Joestar family as Speedwagon himself was."

"It's... a fan club?" Giorno blinked in confusion.

"No! No it's nothing like-... It's more professional than that." You said hastily, your face growing increasingly red. "Sure a couple of members might have their favourites, but that doesn't get in the way of their primary mission!"

"Have their favourites. So it is a fan club." Giorno held back a smile before bursting into laughter. You were caught off guard. For the first time since you'd arrived, Giorno had truly laughed in your presence.

There was a warmth, to your chest.

"No! It's a very professional organization!" You shook your head, trying to hold back your own squeal of delight, seeing his smile.

"Professional enough to send you a package of underwear halfway across the world." Giorno chuckled, smiling.

"I'm allowed to make special requests!" You huffed, pouting.

"Do they make you do a pose? Say a catchphrase?" Giorno teased, as your face only got redder.

"N-n-no!" You puffed, not looking at him.

_'All the time, kid.'_

"Is Jolyne's babysitter a fan too? That driver we had back in S-City?" Giorno chuckled.

"No and no!" You whined.

'_Yep. And yep.'_

"It's a bit strange, i'd admit. Letting a stalker watch Jolyne like that..." Giorno chuckled.

"... No worries. I trust them." You mumbled with a softer smile. "If any one of them steps out of line, the others'll come down on them faster than i can book a plane back to S-city!"

'_So you think they're stahlkers too_.' Iggy scoffed.

"So. Do i have a fanbase too?" Giorno grinned.

"D-d-don't be ridiculous!" You whined. "You're only 15! Why on earth would anyone from the Speedwagon Foundation be thinking about you!"

_'The first day she flashed yer picture, kid.'_

"Maybe i'll think about putting in my own 'special request'." Giorno hummed with a grin.

"Nooooo!" You huffed. "Let's just drop this, okay?!"

"If you say so, mom." Giorno chuckled as your face went red again. _He called you mom! So cute! Dammit, Dio, why did you have to have such a cute son?! Why did he have the cutest expressions!_

_So cute!_

"I-I do, GioGio." You muttered with a red face.

"Heh. GioGio, huh?" Giorno chuckled, trying to hide his own red face. "Already naming my fanbase, are you?"

_The smile! The face! His laugh! It was too cute!_

"Wrrrryyyyyyyy!" You bit down into your finger, trying to hold back a squeal of delight. Giorno gave you a strange look, but didn't question it, nor stop you.

_'Get ovah yer self, wouldja?_' Iggy huffed, shifting away from you in the kennel. 'What d'ya think you are, the kid's mom?'

"Alright Iggy. Here we are-" Just as she'd set the kennel down, Iggy burst out of the kennel, already running from the two down the train. "IGGY!" You snapped, chasing the Terrier. Iggy gave a sort of dog-like laughter, sprinting down the train.

"Heh! Nobody's ever kept me tied down, (y/n), and you certainly aren't gonna be the first!" Iggy laughed, hauling as fast down the train as his mechanical leg would allow. He'd lost her, for the most part inbetween people's legs. She should know better! He'd outsmarted dog catchers for years, and not completely by the grace of The Fool either! She should know he's too smart for her!

"Bad dog, Iggy! Bad!" He could hear you yelling from a distance.

"Water off my back, Dahlin'!" Iggy grinned, stopping for a moment to catch his breath. Heh. All that running really did wear him out. Time to get some real food.

His nose detected every variety of food just up ahead. Gelato. Salami. Bologna. Pizza. Pasta. Cornetto. Seafood.

Suppose he could go for some salami.

Following the scent, he used The Fool to shove open various doors and hide himself against the furniture. He was met by a sight most street dogs back home would consider heaven. A whole car, set out with tables of people and their food. A full house too! Nobody would even know what hit 'em! Now where was that salami comin' from...

A man with his back facing Iggy, seated at a table with a plate of various salamis and cheeses. He picked various meats off the plate, and seemed to be feeding... something, in his lap. Well. Whatever. Now if he could just snatch a couple... Stalking around the table through various chairs and legs he tried to get a better angle of the plate. Honestly he should just jump up there and snatch it... but those days were long gone, as his hips liked to remind him. Most dogs would say 15 is a good age for a street dog. But age only brought more and more limitations on the old Boston. He couldn't run from dog catchers as he used to, nor leap up and snatch food as he'd preferred. Honestly, for as much as he hated being pampered... he didn't have much to complain about, with Joseph. Most dogs would tell him to enjoy the good life up in the Joestar penthouse, sleep out his golden years in the sun. But who wanted that?! He'd made it to 15 by the skin of his teeth, and he'd be damned if he wouldn't go for more!

On the other hand... He'd picked up a new skill from Joseph.

Putting on his best pitiful whine, the Boston limped up to the table, giving into his aching haunches and seating himself right by the man's chair.

"Hmm? Oh hey, little guy!" The man grinned down at him, pulling a weird blue patterned beanie more over his head as he turned Iggy's way. "Where'd you come from? You've gotta have an owner-"

Iggy just gave a huff, and put on his usual routine. A dopey spin here, roll over. Bounce a little, look stupid.

"Awww! You're kinda cute, huh little guy?" The man laughed, taking a couple of pieces of salami and rewarding Iggy's little routine. Iggy snapped the pieces up happily, eager to perform for more.

"C'mon. C'mon. Sit, boy!" The man started to play along, holding the salami temptingly above his head. In his earlier years, Iggy wouldn't have tolerated such a routine, and just snatched the salami right out of his hands. But just as he had such a thought to do so, his arthritis in his left hip started acting up again, reminding him just so of his age.

"Good boy!" The man grinned as Iggy did as told, snapping up piece of Salami after salami. "D'you like ham? Or turkey?"

Mmmmm... Turkey? Iggy practically drooled at the thought, putting on his dopiest expression.

"Roll over! Roll over!" the man held the turkey slice temptingly, Iggy rolling over on his back obediently. "Good boy! Who's such a good boy?!" The man reached down, giving Iggy a piece of turkey and a rewarding belly rub. Oooh it'd been a while since he'd gotten a belly rub, 'specially out of Joseph. He'd been so enraptured in the sensation he'd barely noticed the scent of another dog coming closer to their table.

Hmm? Female. Fixed. Some kinda shepard, by the smell. Healthy.

Stand.

"Hmmm? I vas not avare of any pets on ze train." There was a clinking of tags not far away, followed by a loud dog's sniffing. Eh?! Wha' kinda train kept security dogs?! Time ta scram!

"Huh? What's wrong boy? Where're ya goin?!" The man called as Iggy rolled off his back as fast as possible and started to dart under tables and chairs. "Oh well. Bye little guy!"

Iggy barely even noticed the man's goodbye as he darted under various legs, trying to make his way back towards (Y/n) and Giorno. Right now that kennel was far safer than the paws of this hell-hound. The tags kept keeping up even though he was doing his best to keep hidden. How were none of the humans shittin' their pants at this?! A great big beast of a German Shepard patrollin' the dining car with no leash nor handler in sight?! And people called him filthy!

"I know vere you are. I can smell you." The dog was now in front of him, circling the table and sniffing near where he was. He had a better view of his attacker now. Looked like the typical Shepard you'd expect. Big. Black. Meanest blue eyes he'd seen on her kind yet. Roman Metropolitan K-9 Unit.

Van Halen, huh?

"You are no pampered pet, hmm? I can smell it on you, you know. You're a Stand User. Presumably the ones i'm looking to stop."

"Yeah... What'sit to ya?" Iggy huffed, moving away as Van Halen bent her head, glaring at him with angry blue eyes.

"Vell... Needless to zay i only have one purpose on zis train. You und i both know vat zat is." Van Halen huffed, suddenly appearing on the other side of the table, sticking her head threateningly towards Iggy under the chair. Just what kinda stand was this copper puttin' out?!

"Zo. You have two options. Eizer ve fight it out, on zis train, vith all zese poor, poor passengers as our battlefield... Or you can zertainly try to run. Eizer vay, someone on zis train gets hurt."

"You say that... But how's this fair?! You've literally got me trapped under a table!" Iggy huffed, summoning The Fool to guard his back.

"You're planning on using Ze Fool to make a duplicate of yourself to sneak avay and distract me viz talk." Van Halen said bluntly, all humor in her tone gone. Damn. Got me there.

"In fact. You've already done zo vile you kept me talking." Van Halen huffed turning from the table to see Iggy bolting for the door.

"It worked didn't it?!" Iggy laughed. "Catch me if ya can, losah!"

"Vell. I vould do zat. But here's ze zing. Ze car you're headed for is ze passenger car, correct? You are going to go back to your friends und attempt to get help, because you are a coward." Van Halen huffed, seating herself staring Iggy down. Iggy stopped just short of the door, now glaring back at her.

"Cahl me that to my face, ya freak-eyed mutt!" Iggy growled, turning back to face her, as she was now giving the closest thing to a dog's grin.

"You can hear, you old fleabag, can't you." she laughed a bit. "But you see, there's a problem with your escape plan."

"And what's that?!" Iggy growled, ready to charge on Van Halen.

"The problem is... That i know which one's the real you." Van Halen glanced back over her shoulder, seeing the other Iggy slowly creeping out from under the table, freezing in place at her glare. "You see, Virgo is rather thorough, zat vay."

"Virgo, eh? Sounds about as intimidating as 'The Fool'."

"Please drop ze illusion. It's annoying talking to two at once." Van Halen narrowed her eyes.

"This is annoying, huh? What're ya gonna do about it?! Thought you knew which one was which! I almost thought you were a professional!" Iggy barked with laughter. Van Halen just growled, already showing barely-restrained anger.

"You are attempting to rile me. It vill not vork." Van Halen huffed, backing more up bringing both Iggies into view.

"Wow you actually had me a little scared, for a minute there! If only your Stand were as tough as you talk!" Iggy grinned.

"Hrrrr...! Shut it!" Van Halen snapped, starting to charge towards the left Iggy, shoving aside any and all chairs and tables in her way. "I can get to that door before you even have time to think!"

Just as she leapt into the shadows, she'd stepped right in Iggy's way, bringing her jaws down for a killing clamp. Just as she had her teeth around Iggy's neck, however, the Boston turned to sand in her mouth, followed by a gleeful laugh as the other Iggy went sprinting back towards the passenger cars.

Hah! So all this copper could do was move between shadows?! Not to mention a bound Stand?! Damn, he hadn't met a dog that blew so much shit since Crazy-Eyed Frankie! How had this dog managed to psyche him out the way she had?!

"I told you... I know exactly how zis fight will plan out." When had-

She bit down on his hind, and clamped down. Hard.

"YAAAAGH! What d'ya think you are?! Some kinda-" Iggy barked, as he was suddenly released. Without a second thought, he ran for it, heading back towards (Y/n) and Giorno.


	10. Chapter 10

"Melone, i believe we've had this discussion." Maria growled over the phone, running a hand through her hair.

"Well... Yes. But trust me on this one. It's not as bad as it sounds!" Melone laughed nervously over the phone, paired with what sounded like the clinking of dishes.

"Not as bad as it sounds." Maria huffed rolling her eyes. "You put Babyface on my back without even asking. I'd say that's pretty bad."

"Just for a little while! He's not due for another while, and anyhow, he's just set to passive. I'm just spotting for you!" Melone insisted.

"Spotting?! I'm not here for your little experiments, Melone!" Maria huffed, stepping around a passing attendant.

"I know, i know! But trust me. You've just gotta... set a good example, is all." Melone sighed.

"And how do i go about that?" Maria grumbled.

"He's like a child. So just be a normal, reasonable human being." Melone said cheerfully. "He's reporting back to me, 24/7. If he spots anything outta place, you'll be the first to hear. So relax! Get a glass! Cut loose!"

"Cut loose?" Maria raised an eyebrow.

"Eh. I kinda want to see what Capo does when she thinks she's alone." Melone chuckled.

"Now that i know i'm not..." Maria huffed. "Fine. Call me back if anything shows, then."

"Will do!" Melone chirped as the phone hung up. Typical Melone. Act first, then ask. With her luck, Melone probably wasn't even paying attention. Making Babyface extra baggage at this point. With a grunt she instinctively ran a hand through her hair. True enough, there he was. The tiny stand clamped onto the back of her head, by strands of her short hair. For all of Babyface's perverted intentions, suppose she could at least play along. Not much more she could do, at this point.

Now... onto the point. Dr. (Y/n) Kujo, marine Botanist, married to Jotaro Kujo, One daughter, Jolyne Kujo. According to what Melone had put together, she should be headed towards Air Supplena, alone. From there, depending on how fortune favored her, Maria could either beat her to the Stone or somehow manipulate the Stone into her hands. Honestly she probably should've put all of this together before she'd left, but hindsight was 20/20 on that one. Didn't much matter now. Right now she was on a job, and searching for her target. With some luck, she could maybe even get (y/n) to let her piggyback and take her straight to the Stone. The sooner, the better, right? Maybe even a higher payout from the Boss, for efficiency?

Well. Now that was wishful thinking. Boss didn't care about speed, nor efficiency. Payout seemed to rise and fall wether the boss was feelin' a good mood or a bad one. Some would say that was the perks of being the Boss. But she found herself hating those kinds of people the longer she was in Passione. Quality of work should be rewarded regardless, not the whims and grace of the higher ups. But after last time, she knew better than to inquire to the Boss about 'Hazard Pay' for La Squadra. So what, they were at a higher risk of death and dismemberment than the rest of the Gang, he'd told her. What made their funerals more expensive than the rest of the gang's?

... Sometimes The Boss could be a real corporate asshole. But that corporate asshole had, 1, put La Squadra in her lap in the first place. And 2, was currently paying her rent and food bill. And 3, was covering for her with the police.

Didn't much excuse the pay fluctuation and the mundane targets. But... considering the circumstances she was given La Squadra in the first place.

Just as she had pulled her phone to check (y/n)'s information again, a familiar blonde head passed her.

"Iggy! Iggy! C'mon Iggy..." Giorno called, seemingly barely recognizing her as he searched the empty compartments and under the seats. She could walk away, pretend to still be on the phone...

Her legs wouldn't move from the spot.

He knew. He knew she had his ID. He was gonna bust her, right on this train. Think! Think-

"Huh. Your wallet says you're blonde." Maria blinked, backing off. He was right in her face, looking her over with an amused expression.

"My... Wall..." Maria was at a loss for words, just soundlessly mouthing the rest of her sentance. Apparently this was amusing, as Giorno held back a laugh.

"I'd say it was an equal exchange. Maria Anthonio Zeppeli." Giorno pulled out said wallet, glancing over the horrid picture of her driver's license. "You actually look much better blonde, i'll say."

She couldn't think. So she lashed out. The arm of her Stand lashed out from her own, reaching to snatch the wallet. At the same time, his own Stand snatched her arm, slamming it into the wall of the compartment behind her with a vicious bang. His stand sufficiently pinning her down, he started to pick through her pockets, pulling out his ID from her pants.

"You've got a Stand. Probably how you nicked me in the first place. Well played." Giorno hummed, nodding in mock approval.

"Tch..." She couldn't look him in the eye. What was with this guy?! Why was he so... warm, towards her. Why even bother with the playing nice?! She'd robbed him!

"I guess the old lady was right. Stand Users seem to attract each other like magnets." Giorno sighed, bringing his hands on his hips. "So, what. You just happen to want to take a trip to Paris too? You're here to stop us? You want to kill me for some ungodly reason?"

Silence.

"Come on, now. We haven't got all day." Giorno sighed, motioning her to get on with it. "Or at least i don't."

"... That's my business." Maria muttered with a glare.

"Oh, i'm sure it is. But we're all in the same gang here, and something tells me this isn't just one big leisurely Paris visit. So. You here to stop us? Or what."

"... I will tell that to (y/n). And no one else." Maria huffed, her head high now.

"I can play the long game too, you know. I could keep you here all day if i felt like it. Your Stand's not very strong, and i'm having no trouble keeping you here. So why don't we kill two birds with one stone and-" Giorno sighed, before giving a muffled yelp as their lips mashed together. It was crude and fast, and could barely be called a kiss. But it served it's job. Gold Experience loosened it's grip on her. Just enough to let her run.

"H-h-hold up now!" Giorno yelped, holding his lips where she'd bit on them for good measure. She barely gave him time to catch up, running as far down the train as she could get, with him fast after her.

"Just leave me alone, alright?!" Maria snapped over her shoulder, her face red in embarrassment.

"I don't see what the big issue is?! You're the one following us!" Giorno huffed, using Gold Experience to try to gain speed on her.

"Its none of your business!" Maria snapped, dodging Giorno's grabs as they started to run more into the coach seating, currently occupied by older businessmen and women. Ducking and dodging past other passengers, it wasn't long before Giorno was literally inches behind her.

"Couples these days, George."

"You'd think they'd be older than playing stupid games like chase."

"Is that something couples do now?"

Ignoring the strange looks, Maria dug around her purse before pulling out a Sharpie.

"Babyface, if you're looking to pull your weight you'd best start now!" Maria snapped, shaking the Sharpie to try to get more ink flowing. It sent her hairs standing straight, feeling Babyface crawling from her scalp onto her back. Like a spider, creeping down one's back.

But he was along for this exact situation.

Reaching out with the marker on instinct, she reached out to start spelling 'leave me alone'. Just as she started on 'leave' a large black shadow whisked past her feet, and soon enough she was tripping over the black shadow, dragging the marker through the air below. At the same time, there was a sound like a shriek, behind her, followed by a sound like blocks dropping on eachother.

'I've gotta get away from here! I can't run... Not from this guy...'

"GAH! Don't do me, idiot!" Maria yelped, glancing back at Babyface, currently taking a perfectly shaped cube of her thigh and munching on it. "Get him!"

Words were meaningless with Babyface. She was better off just limping away. Just as she was trying to fumble for her sharpie, her fingers felt something that felt like a fold of carpet. Had she cut it in her fall? No... Snapping her eyes back to underneath her, she could see rather than just cutitng the carpet, the line where the Sharpie had drawn had instead turned into some kind of getaway, into the roof of what looked like the bathroom.

"Hey! I just want to-" Giorno had grabbed the back of her jacket, just as she'd pulled herself into where the sharpie had cut.

Well that was... a first. How long had she been able to do that?!

Just as she pondered, baffled at this realization...

She landed ass-first into a urinal.

"FUUUUUUGGGGGOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

"Hey. Fugo." Fugo felt a prod towards his shoulder. Then two. Opening one bleary purple eye, Fugo glanced towards his left. Narancia apparently had awoken from his nap, and looked... frightened.

"Fugo. I gotta piss." Narancia whined. Fugo had to hold down a sharp retort. Narancia was how old?! Letting Narancia live with him was one thing. Even helping him get groceries and driving him. Even teaching him basic things like math, and reading. But Fugo's patience ended for two things. Waking him up. And just inane childishness.

This fell into the latter.

"Then go piss." Fugo grunted, rolling his head back over to try to drift back off.

"But... You hear stories!" Narancia whined.

"People make shit up all the time, Narancia. Just because it happened once doesn't mean it'll happen to you because you've heard of it." Fugo sighed, trying his best to keep his tone even.

"It's just this once Fugo! Just stand outside, i guess. Make sure nobody..." Narancia gulped, gripping Fugo by the sleeve.

"Nobody's going to mug, rape, or jump your skinny ass. Especially not on a public line. And if they do, you have Aerosmith." Fugo sighed, giving Narancia a 'really' look. Narancia just persisted, pouting with big eyes.

"I'm not asking much! Just... stand outside. Watch my back." Narancia mumbled in a small voice. "Seriously! I'm gonna piss myself!"

Fugo opened both eyes now, in a full fledged glare. Narancia wasn't intimidated, just pouting and bouncing in his seat like a 5 year old being told to hold it.

He was honest-to-God going to piss himself if Fugo didn't walk him to the bathroom.

And just when he started to think of him as 'mature'.

"... Fucking... Fine." Fugo grunted, standing up reluctantly with several pops of his back. That seat was starting to put a crick in his neck. Maybe he'd ask for a pillow on the way back. Narancia perked up immediately, standing up and nearly throwing the compartment door open. For the most part it was empty. The restroom was at least two cars away, if memory served. "You're a real child sometimes, you know that?"

"You hear stories! Bad things happen in public bathrooms! You gotta watch your ass these days! Did i ever tell you about this one kid, in Juvie?" Narancia grumbled, walking just ahead of Fugo nervously glancing over his shoulder.

"You told me a lot of 'this one kid in Juvie' stories. Does one kid really have that much bad luck, or did that much shit happen in one year." Fugo rolled his eyes.

"They're all true, trust me!" Narancia insisted. "Anyhow. This one kid, in Juvie. I don't even think he knew he was doing it but he... advertised, to the older kids. The guards usually stopped anything... but eventually they all cornered him in the shower. You could hear the screaming, and i think the guards eventually got in and stopped it... but the last we saw of him was on a stretcher. They had to cover up his face, they'd bashed half his face in before they got down to business."

Fugo thought he'd mastered sorting Narancia's guilt tripping from straight up bullshit. But he couldn't help being a little worried, in that minute. Almost felt sorry for him.

Almost.

"And besides! We haven't gotten time together in... ages?" Narancia laughed awkwardly, giving a friendly punch to Fugo's shoulder. "You an' i should hang more often!"

"This isn't hanging. This is you threatened to piss the seat if i didn't walk you to the bathroom because you might get jumped or raped." Fugo sighed, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

"Doesn't mean we can't get something out of it!" Narancia laughed, moving to the next car. There was a loud stumble, like a clatter the next car over. Followed by shouting. This was why he hated trains. The idea of being cramped into 9, 10, 11 cars with hundreds upon hundreds of people, all breathing down each other's necks, paired with boredom, paired with a gentle, maddening rocking. It was like a recipe for drama. It might sound claustrophobic, but for the most part Fugo couldn't stand any sort of subway, train, or public line. Not because of the idea that someone could kill him with little to no evidence or witnesses. Just the claustrophobia of crowds. Not to mention- if a fight did break out, or drama did come about. There was little to no way to get out of it till the next stop. Not to mention... being so packed in with so many people... It stood to remind him of how his old professor would get close... put his hands on him... stand, back to chest, hold him there...

One could argue thinking like that was how he ended up with Purple Haze in the first place. But it was too late to correct that now.

"Yo... what's with that intense look?" Narancia blinked back at him, actually looking a bit worried now. "H-hey. If it's really such a bother... you can go back to our seat. Like you said, i've got Aerosmith..."

Fugo's weakest trait, self-admittedly... was how expressive his face could be. "It's nothing. Nothin'. Just thinking." Fugo shook his head, trying to lighten up his expression.

"Right... I forgot you hate these confined rides. Sorry, bro." Narancia glanced back his way, looking guilty.

"H-hey. What's with that face. I put myself on this train. I'll tough it out. I wouldn't have to put up with it anyhow if you didn't wake me to go take a piss, dumbass." Fugo scoffed, but smiled, slightly. Narancia brightened, seeing his slight smile. "Anyhow. Here we are. Go on." Fugo sighed as they reached the wash closet, turning to go back to their seat.

"H-h-hey. Stand out here, wouldja?" Narancia mumbled, nervousness back. And just as quickly, the irritation was back.

"I got you here, that should be enough." Fugo huffed, raising an eyebrow.

"I got a bad feelin', alright?!" Narancia sighed, slouching. He jumped as he looked back up, seeing Fugo staring him right in the face.

"You've been acting really weird lately, Narancia. First you flip out about me drinking tap water. And now you need me to guard your ass on the shitter against... what. You heard about a kid getting raped in juvie once?" Fugo huffed, looking Narancia right in the eyes. Narancia jumped, shrinking against the bathroom door. He couldn't look anywhere else. He couldn't look Fugo in the eye. "Is there something going on, Narancia? Something you need to talk about?" Fugo grumbled, setting a hand on Narancia's shoulder.

"..."

"Narancia. You can talk to me. I know you've had a hard time, opening up to people in the past. But... It's like you said. It's stressful. We both need to learn to open up. To each other." Fugo sighed, softening his look, slightly. "If there's something going on... it can be anything."

"..."

"Narancia. Look at me, when i talk to you." Fugo sighed, frustrated. His other hand turned Narancia's head towards himself, keeping a grip by his hair.

"Wh-what's with the grabby grabby?! S-So gay, bro!" Narancia laughed, pulling free of Fugo's hand and pushing his hand off. Fugo seemed to realize how close they'd gotten as well, clearing his throat and standing awkwardly away.

"Shuddup. I'm just concerned about you, is all." Fugo huffed, not looking at Narancia. Narancia just gave his usual grin, finding his opportunity to tease away the awkwardness.

"I don't blame ya! It's hard, being this handsome!" Narancia grinned. "It's only natural you'd wanna get some hands on!"

"Go take a piss, ass." Fugo snapped, shoving the door open and pushing Narancia inside.

"You'll stand out there, right?!" Narancia yelped as the door was slammed after him.

"Fine! Yes! Whatever. And don't talk to me when you're pissing! It's rude!" Fugo huffed, as there was a soft thump through the bathroom wall, Fugo leaning against it on the other side.

The wash closet was small. Only about a one-roomer. No fear of gettin' jumped, after all then. Really, what bathroom was so fancy as to have a urinal and a toilet?! Ah well. Down to business, then!

* * *

"FUUUUUUUGGGGGGOOOOOOO!"

Narancia barely had time to zip himself up when Giorno and someone else dropped from the cieling, smashing straight through the urinal and sending water spraying all through the ceiling.

"She's got a Sta-" Giorno barely had time to yell before being shoved off, the girl shoving him off and starting to run, armed only with a sharpie.

"FUGOOOOO-" Narancia started to yelp before stopping as the girl calmly locked the door, leaving Fugo to slam uselessly on the other side.

"The file mentioned it would go something like this..." She sighed, adjusting her tank top by the straps. Despite being soaked head to toe in toilet water, she managed to put off a threatening aura between the two.

"The file...?" Giorno sat up, with Narancia's help.

"You idiots are after the Red Stone of Aja too, hmm? It's embarassing how long it took me to realize you guys were all with her." She sighed. "And now that i've learned that little trick... once i'm done with you, i'm the only one coming outta this bathroom alive."

"H-h-hold up?! You're after it too?!" Narancia yelped backing into the far wall of the toilet.

"I guess at this point i won't get much outta you. At worst, you probably know less than i do." She sighed, holding the sharpie up to the mirror and starting to write. "But at the very least... I can cover my tracks."

"C-c-cover your- Hey, now! We're all after the same thing, aren't we?!" Narancia yelped. "Why don't we all just pool our knowledge and work together?!"

"You and i hardly want the same thing." She huffed, finishing the word 'Punch' in the mirror. Just as the two read it, Giorno gasped, feeling something akin to a strong sucker punch right in his gut. A moment later, Narancia suffered the same, the two falling back into the wash closet wall.

"And why are you doing this... huh?" Giorno coughed, defiantly standing again as she started to write 'Punch' over and over on the mirror.

"Heh. You wouldn't get it, newbie. But this is higher up business. This shit goes way beyond any sorta 'save the world' kinda mantra she's roped you into. Long story short. If there's gonna be a Stand War, Passione's gonna be sitting nice and pretty at the top. If i gotta kill you guys to get it, so be it."

"If you want it so bad... Why not just skip the beat down and write yourself a way out of this bathroom?" Giorno huffed. At that she paused, just as the urinal water started to spray harder, washing away her writing on the mirror and forcing her to cover her Sharpie protectively.

"You can't. Can you." Giorno chuckled, rubbing his gut and pulling Narancia to his feet. "Your Stand is the marker. Or your Stand can only interact through that marker. As long as that water's spraying and messing up the place... You can't do a damned thing, can you." At that she stopped, tucking the marker away and proceeding to glare at Giorno.

"S-s-so what?!" Maria snapped, her Stand's arms appearing at her side, still not fully exposing itself, if it even could.

"On the other side of that door is Fugo. He's got a Stand too, and until you can get that sharpie flowing again, you've got no way out. So why not just put the Sharpie down and come clean?" Giorno reasoned. She huffed, seemingly considering his words for a minute.

"... Fine. You got me." Maria sighed, shoving the capped off marker in her pocket and standing at a more relaxed state. "But i wouldn't be counting on your friend Fugo to be on the other side of that door..."

"I've seen your Stand already. Babyface? It's trapped in here with you. You can't get out." Giorno huffed, looking rather annoyed to be playing this game.

"Oh that? That's not my Stand." Maria grinned, just as there was a loud yelling and a gurgling from the other side of the door. With a flick of the lock, she was out again, kicking a startled Fugo out of the way and starting to run again, a small grey humanoid being hopping onto her shoulder. A large chunk of Fugo's throat had been torn out, just short of his windpipe.

"Fugo!" Narancia yelled, rushing past Giorno to pull Fugo to his feet.

"Don't read anything she writes! Her Stand's the sharpie. Or the ink! I... Don't know precisely. But..." Giorno looked uncertain before shaking his head. "I don't think she wants us dead. But she's definitely going to try to beat us to Caesar."

* * *

_Mark._

_Jump._

_Mark._

_Jump._

_Mark and jump._

Put as much distance between me and those three as possible!

Just gotta get off this train, right?!

"What luck! Didn't think i'd be saying this, but thank you Baby-" Just as she'd reached out to mark another pathway out, the black thing rushed past her again, heading straight for the mark she'd made. "You again?! What the hell-" A dog. That fucking dog!

The dog from before was growling at her as she blocked the mark with herself.

"Y-you... I knew something was wrong with you!" Maria snapped, holding the sharpie threateningly. "You after the Stone too? Damn. How many people want this fuckin' thing?" The dog didn't respond, nor grace her with a response, just circling around, slow. Predatory.

"With my luck, you probably can't even read, can you?" Maria sighed, lowering her marker with a glare. Just as the dog entered the shadow, a black surrounded it, stretching and covering her entire shadow.

"Dog-gy?" There was a tiny voice, near her ear. Like a child whispering.

"That thing! There!" Maria huffed, pointing towards the dog.

"Kill?"

"Yes! Kill! Get rid of it! Whatever!" She snapped as Babyface crept from her hair onto her shoulder.

"Kill... Dog-gy?" Babyface quirked it's head, curiously.

"Yeah, kill the dog!" Maria snapped. "Grrrrr... Melone, get it to kill the dog!" As if he could hear you now.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" Babyface cheered, as the dog started to charge.

"You kill! Not me!" Maria huffed, reaching to grab Babyface by the neck.

"What... is... kill?" Babyface asked innocently, like a child.

"Are you fucking with me?!" Maria groaned, pulling a fresh Sharpie from her pocket.

"What... is... fucking?"

"Ugh... If you want something done right..." Maria growled, holding the Sharpie as the mark behind her sealed. The dog seemed to take this as a challenge, running towards her with jaws wide. Just as the dog leapt to bite, she swiped out at the air with the marker, sending a long gash right into the dog's face. So... her marks could do damage, or open paths where she needed it. With several eager swipes, she sent more and more marks towards the dog, leaving rather wide gashes in it's face and sides. Something was protecting the dog though, molding over the gashes and healing the dog over. She couldn't kill it!

"Uhhh..." Maria gulped, making another mark in the floor and hopping through it, trying to outrun the dog. It's protective shield only seemed to work in the darkness of the train, she noticed. So... If she just lashed out when it was in the light...

As the dog chased her through yet another hole in space, she lashed out as soon as it's face hit the sunlight. Just as she'd suspected, it's face slashed wide open, leaving a bloody gash across it's face. This seemed to only make it angrier, the more she tried to get away. She'd read somewhere that dogs can follow a scent for miles, there was slim chance she could ever lose it...

Just as she hopped through another gap in space, a small black and white form sped past her, straight into the dog.

"Hey! You stupid-" Maria started to snap, glancing back and stopping. It was her. But... How?! No time to think! With another slash, she aimed to get around the dog, take it out from behind while it was focused on the other her. True to her plan, they moved in synchronity. As she would slash a hole in space, the other her would take the opposite space, deflecting bites and punches much to the dogs frustration.

The dog tried to lash out, biting at the other her's arms, only to be met with mouthful's of sand as she slashed away with her marker.

"Heh! Don't underestimate me, ya stupid mutt!" Was her english that good? When did she sound so... Boston? The dog apparently had caught this too, turning on her with a growl and jumping up to her shoulders for a bite.

Just as the dog leaned in to snap down...

A cough.

A gag.

Another cough.

Wheeze.

The dog was... choking?

The dog was choking on sand. Within minutes it was gasping for air on it's side, gagging on what seemed to be endless sand in it's throat. Against her better judgement, and despite what a devil the dog had been up to that point...

She'd always been a sucker for animals.

With a sigh, she pounded on the dog's ribs, helping it to cough up the sand it had so mindleslly eaten. The other her had disappeared as well, revealing itself to be an elderly Boston Terrier with the most adorably confused expression she'd seen on a dog.

"C'mon you stupid thing. Cough it up." Maria huffed, as the dog's breathing started to regulate. Even the dog seemed to give a confused look at her, wheezing and panting up the sand. "Stupid thing." The dog wheezed, standing up shakily and quirking it's head as it gave a few tenative sniffs.

"If you bite me after all of that i swear to god i'll sock you straight in the throat." Maria warned as the dog surprisingly seemed to back off, respectfully. Really?! After all of that?! The Terrier seemed to have deemed it safe, limping over to her and giving a few curious sniffs. The dog seemed to respect the outcome of the battle, backing off and limping away.

"Wha... That was it?!" Maria huffed, but gave a few halfhearted pats to the Terrier's head.

**Van Halen**

**Stand: Virgo**

**Status: RETIRED!**


	11. Chapter 11

"... Well." Maria sighed heavily, falling back into the seat between Fugo and Giorno. Babyface had spat up the portion of Fugo's throat, replacing it and his ability to speak.

"I... hope some things have been cleared up, between us." (Y/n) said, hesitantly.

"Well... when you word it all like that a lot of shit comes into question, ma'am." Maria sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"At the very least..." (y/n) sighed.

"I... suppose we could work together. On a condition." Maria hummed, after a while.

"What's that."

"I want the Red Stone when we're done. I've got an obligation to fullfill... Not to the boss, exactly. But... to someone else. I'll keep a hold on it, i guess." Maria muttered.

"That's more of a request of Caesar, isn't it?" (Y/n) asked.

"He's going to say no. Anyone in their right mind would." Maria huffed, rolling her eyes. "But you don't exactly seem all there yourself. So i'm askin' you."

"And what's keeping me from telling you no." (Y/n) raised an eyebrow, tensing up.

"You? Nothing. Though... If things turn out the way i think they will, Nirvana will be the least of your problems." Maria shrugged. "Just... trust me on this one."

"What, The Boss? I thought he's already all powerful. Most untouchable man in all of Europe, right?" Fugo sighed.

"It's... not just that. That's part of it, sure. But... let's just say him and Nirvana are closer than you think." Maria sighed. "I think... He's probably realized by now he can't just buy the stone off Nirvana. He wouldn't have anything Nirvana would want. So the only thing he has left to bargain for... is the most essential piece."

"He honestly expects to con Nirvana?" (Y/n) shook her head.

"He's doing the only thing a human is capable of doing, in the face of something like Nirvana." Maria shrugged. "Nirvana would win that fight. Of that i have no doubt. The Boss will get what he reaps, in time. Nirvana though... She knows exactly what she wants and how to get it. And right now, that makes her more dangerous than one mortal man."

"And i'm sure you're doing this because you're completely concerned about the stability of the Stand world." Giorno gave a skeptical look. Maria just glared, sitting straighter.

"You should be more thoughtful of the man making the request. I'm sure a man who nobody's ever seen or talked to is more than stable to be having something like the Red Stone of Aja in his hands." Maria scoffed. There was a tense air between them, slowly spreading among the rest of the group as they exchanged dismissal glares. "Anyhow. I'm along for the ride now, aren't i."

"For now." Giorno muttered.

"We will be arriving in Rome in less than 20 minutes, passengers. Please gather your personal belongings and prepare for departure. Please enjoy your stay in beautiful Rome!"

"Been there. It's all hype." Maria shrugged, starting to gather her backpack and jacket.

"All hype? There's nothing to see, whatsoever?" Fugo raised an eyebrow, standing and gathering his own baggage.

"Nothing you can't see in Naples." Maria scoffed before humming in thought. "Hey... you two ever been to a hot spring?"

"A hot spring. In Rome."

"A little outside Rome, actually. I got a private spring there. My... Christmas bonus, you could call it." Maria shrugged. "Consider it a peace offering. For the bathroom thing."

"You want to take time out of our trip to go to a hot spring?" (Y/n) gave an incredulous look.

"You're on vacation, aren't you?" Maria shot back, grinning.

"I... Suppose." (Y/n) sighed in defeat. "But not too long, alright? Who knows what kinda territory Nirvana can cover while we're lazing about."

"I'm sure she'll be more than accomidating. When's the last time you've been in a bikini, old woman?" Maria shrugged, ignoring the sharp glare from (Y/n).

"Please address me as (Y/n), Mrs. Kujo. Mrs. (Y/n), or Doctor." (Y/n) said stiffly. "Not old lady. Not old woman. In fact, do not address my age whatsoever."

"Geez. People call me a tightass." Maria whistled, wrapping Iggy's leash around her wrist.

* * *

"You said it was private!" Fugo huffed crossing through the currently heavily populated hot springs, with only men in boxers and bikinis in sight for miles.

"Yeah, yeah. The private ones are a little ahead." Maria had already happily stripped down to a bikini, colorfully themed in the Italian flag. (Y/n) had borrowed one of Maria's spares, a (f/c) bikini. Where Maria was all too happy to be showing off, (Y/n) was a bit more awkward, holding the towels awkwardly to her midsection.

"Woooooow! I've never seen so many babes in one place!" Narancia was practically drooling at the sight, frequently having to be dragged along by Fugo to keep from staring.

"Hey! I don't appreciate bein' the side piece, thank you!" Maria huffed with a pout.

"Well... you're hot an' all too. But you kinda got a shitty attitude. it's a turn off, ya know?" Narancia waved her off in dismissal as a pair of college aged girls passed them, toting bikinis and colas. Maria on the other hand had her jaw dropped at Narancia, genuine hurt on her face.

"W-w-well fuck you too!" Maria stuttered, as Fugo had to wheeze to keep from roaring in laughter and giving Narancia a half-deserved smack over the head. "Can't look much worse than Giorno over there."

"Where is he anyhow? I thought he was right behind us?" Narancia and Fugo turned, trying to look past the crowd of people for the blonde head. Maria just pointed to the hot springs below them, where Giorno was currently collecting a small fanbase.

"Are you kidding me?! Who digs swim trunks? Especially pink?! Pink!" Maria rolled her eyes, tossing her towel over her shoulder.

"I think it's less about his trunks and more what he's packing." Fugo said, pulling a pair of binoculars to get a better look.

"For a 15 year old he's got a pretty nice 'pack going there." Narancia hummed, squinting to try to see.

"If you're done drooling over a minor's six pack we got a hot spring to get to." Maria huffed, shoving the two out of the way and giving a couple of tenative steps out onto the water of one of the springs. When she seemed to have her balance, she burst into a short jog, practically bouncing on the surface of the water and sending unsteady ripples and waves where she walked.

"This 'Ripple' stuff is pretty legit, huh?" Narancia commented, watching Maria cross the maze of hot springs towards Giorno and his little fan-club.

"She's pretty strong in it. Walking on water with no proper training's a testament to that. But that's just it. Impressive." (Y/n) said, her eyes following and criticizing every move. "She's got no chance against Caesar. I can tell you that without even watching them fight. Talent won't mean shit to Caesar. He's a man of hard work."

"So why even give her the chance." Fugo glanced her way from the binoculars in confusion.

"On one hand. We have to be reasonable. Caesar's a master, yes. But we can't realistically just bring him along and expect him to fight Nirvana for us." (Y/n) hummed, lowering the towel slightly. "But... raw talent with a little instruction and a good lesson in humility will suffice just as well."

"Can't you just teach her. Isn't Hamon, like, your biggest weakness?" Narancia asked, confused.

"Can a tiger teach a gazelle to run?" (Y/n) shrugged.

"Eh?" Narancia blinked, clearly lost in the metaphor.

"Nevermind. Long story short, i only know Hamon as being on the receiving end of it. I wouldn't even know where to begin." (Y/n) shook her head.

"Can i learn?!" Narancia perked up as Maria started to drag Giorno behind her by the braid, stomping back through the springs back towards them with a struggling Giorno.

"Mm... Ask Caesar." (Y/n) said uncertainly.

"That's Fugo's line!" Narancia huffed.

"It's not a yes or a no, Narancia. It just means ask Caesar when we get to him." Fugo sighed, ruffling Narancia's hair.

"Maaaaan." Narancia huffed, tapping his foot impatiently and further shifting his swim trunks, barely riding on his hips as it was. Fugo had been the only one brave enough to sport a speedo, and from the looks of things, the bright red piece of fabric was paying off. Below them, a small snapping match had spurred between Maria and Giorno, as his weight had weakened her Ripple and was currently dragging them both knee deep through the hot spring.

"What's with them? I thought Giorno got along with anyone." Narancia sighed as the snapping had escalated to a splashing match.

"She does grate the nerves." Fugo sighed, like a parent tired of separating children.

"Just imagine when Caesar gets his hands on her. It'll help take the edge off. A bit." (y/n) shrugged, before making her own way down, breaking up the small splashing match.

"I'm not sure if i can take the next three hours." Fugo sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

* * *

"Sis! Put the binoculars down for a minute and just enjoy the water!"

"They're right there!" The younger of two girls, bright amber eyes and white haired, stared through a pair of binoculars down at the group below.

"And they're gonna notice you if you keep dancing around like that, Styx." An older girl with brown hair and blue eyes sighed, getting up from the water and picking the pair of binoculars from Styx's hands.

"Blu!" Styx whined, trying to snatch the binoculars back. "We're not on vacation, you know!"

"It's blending in." Blue huffed, setting the binoculars back in their bag. "Soon. With my Gemini and your Aries, we've got all the time we need. So relax a little."

"What a pain..." Styx sighed, seating herself by the pool and tentatively setting her feet in the steaming water. "Why do you think Nirvana even wants these guys stopped so bad anyhow?"

"I've been asking myself that since we got here." Blu hummed, seating herself next to Styx.

"You don't know?!" Styx huffed, turning to glare at Blue, who just shrugged.

"We owe her, y'know! I thought it'd just be a simple job." Blue shrugged awkwardly. Styx just huffed, glancing back over her shoulder seeing the group coming closer. She could feel the tension between Maria and Giorno from here.

"They're coming over here." Styx started to stand again, starting to gather her stuff.

"Mmmmhmmm." Blue just nodded, not getting up.

"Uh... that's your cue." Styx huffed, poking Blue in the shoulder.

"Yep." Blue just nodded, leaning back on her elbows.

"Do your thing!" Styx huffed, raising her leg to kick Blue in the back. Instead Blue stood, holding Styx by the cheeks with a smile.

"You're so cute when you're angry." Blue chuckled, pinching Styx by the cheeks. "Styx, Styx, Styx. Put a little faith in me, alright?"

"How can i when you're just sitting-" Styx reached up to rip Blue's hands from her face before seeing the gleam in Blue's eyes.

"Put a little faith in me, and i'll do the rest. Okay?" Blue chuckled, flipping one long brown hair out of her face.

"... Fine. Whatever." Styx muttered as the group passed them with strange stares.

* * *

"As promised! Perfectly private!" Maria announced, making her way down to a seperate spring, marked with a big 'Private' sign on the path.

"It's pretty!" Narancia gasped in awe, running ahead and dropping his baggage right by the pool to jump in.

"Careful! It's hot!" (Y/n) yelled after him, setting the towels delicately on the dropped baggage. Narancia had ignored her, rather jumping right into the hot spring with a big splash and sending the others shrieking away.

"Idiot! What part of 'Hot' Spring do you not understand!" Fugo snapped as Narancia yelped, crawling right out.

"I thought it'd be cooler than that." Narancia mumbled with a pout.

"You gotta ease your way in." Maria sighed, pushing past the two and stepping in slowly, till she was up to her knees. "It's something to... you know. Savor. Relax."

"Sounds fancy. What's the fun in it if you can't splash around?!" Narancia huffed.

"That's the point. It's for relaxing." Giorno sighed, stepping in himself with a relieved breath. "Just get in and sit down. Enjoy it."

Narancia looked skeptical, but complied, this time stepping in slower. After a while, he too, sat himself down next to Fugo.

"C'mon! Get in, (Y/n)! This is for all of us!" Maria called as (Y/n) kept looking uncertainly over her shoulder.

"Considering the kind of trip we're on..." (y/n) started to argue, only to be waved off by Maria.

"Nobody's gonna attack a damn hot spring. That's just stupid. Get in! The water's so good!"

"Says you. You've only just come along." (y/n) huffed.

"I speak as a professional assassin. Attacking a hot spring is just bad planning altogether. It's big, it's public, and it's a no-win-situation. For any aspiring assassin, attacking a place of leisure is just a flat out noob move." Maria waved her off with a roll of her eyes.

"You're an assassin?!" Narancia gasped in awe as it was Maria's turn to give a halfhearted grin.

"Yep. And i've got a whole team." Maria boasted.

"Tell us!" Narancia begged.

"Yeah. Share something." Giorno leaned in, interested.

"I... Uh... Well. Some of 'em i can't talk about for legal reasons." Maria chuckled awkwardly.

"What are you, the FBI. C'mon. Tell us about a job." Fugo scoffed.

"Alright, alright. Let's see... How about... One a' my first jobs. It was pretty basic, a politician meddling in something the Boss wanted to keep legal. So we follow him for a couple a blocks in the car..."


	12. Chapter 12

"So you weren't willing to stop and take us to a hot spring, but now, because of it, you're willing to stay a night in Rome?" Maria huffed as they entered a small, run down hotel. It looked like something straight out of a bad crime movie. Old, outdated carpeting stretched from one end of the lobby to the other, colorful and kitsch. A single television sat high on an unsteady shelving, the ancient, warped wood ready to drop it's heavy load at any minute, and the television scrawling by the last week's sports scores. An aged cola machine by the front desk crackled and flickered with life, with long outdated labeling and the machine itself screaming the last limping days of its life. For all of that... It was clean. No busted holes, no mildew, no god-forbid-mold. Just... Old. Nostalgic, one would say, for (Y/n), and arguably most of the group, while Narancia and Giorno were quick to turn their noses up at the sight. Part of it reminded her of one of her later jobs with La Squadra, her, Risotto, and Prosciutto had followed the target and his latest callgirl to a hotel much like this one. It was, surprisingly, one of the cleaner jobs the group had brought her along on. Clean, quiet, away from prying eyes, and the next morning the bastard was found right in the bathtub, shriveled in age and practically gutted. She didn't particularily enjoy the killing portion of their job, and Risotto and Prosciutto had long since been numbed to it... but knowing that each kill was taking some pervert, drug dealer, trafficker, or any other manner of threat to either the children or girls of the world... It made her feel just a bit better about it. When she could think like that, the nausea and nightmares got just a little better each time.

Maybe one day she could take it the way Risotto and Prosciutto could.

"Well thanks to your little hot spring trip, we're behind anyhow. And we might as well get organized as to how we're going to even find Nirvana to begin with." (Y/n) huffed, briefly snapping Maria out of her reverie as they came up to the front desk. It was a trip to even see the wall of room keys behind his desk.

"What're the odds we'll find a crack pipe under the bed or something?" Maria whistled. "Think i got some a' the old whacky tobaccy in my makeup case."

"Why am i not shocked the assassin is also a drug user." Fugo gave a head shake.

"If i didn't have it i don't picture myself being in this business for much longer." Maria grumbled. "Anyhow. We need to take some time to figure how we're gonna travel. Quieter."

"I'm making some phone calls tonight." (y/n) said, stepping aside to let Giorno sign his name next.

"What's the chances she'd tap the phones too? We can't take much risks in this trip." Maria sighed, taking the pen and randomly writing down her name.

"Aside from crossing Italy the old fashioned way... I'm hoping somewhere along the way she'll leave us be once she sees us taking a turn for France instead. That's the hope, anyhow." (Y/n) sighed, looking rather worried. "That's part of why i staked out this place, too. If we're going to get jumped... we'll certainly know."

"That why you've split us up too?" Fugo asked, signing his own name alongside Narancia's.

"No objections, i hope?" (Y/n)'s tone was joking, but her face screamed paranoia from a previous experience.

"Fine by me. If he tries to get a handful, we might be travelling just a little lighter anyhow." Maria shrugged casually as Giorno took another, surprised glance. He had, indeed, roomed himself with Maria. (Y/n) gave her own glance of 'sorry' towards Giorno.

It was a humble, two-bed room with the expected hotel setup. The carpeting had followed them up and the comforters laying on top of the bed were decorated in an old flowery pattern that Maria herself could've sworn she'd seen in her mother's house. Between the beds was the same tube television boasting BBC, and a small tv guide alongside it with the internet password written in a hasty scrawl.

At the very least it didn't smell like smoke nor crack. Giorno was quick to take the bed he wanted and seating himself expectantly across from Maria. This was the first bit of alone time they'd gotten together. And it was in a dingy hotel room.

She could only hope he didn't snore. Perfect face like that? Doubtful.

Maria set her stuff down promptly, and did a few obligatory checks around the room. Making sure their bathroom wasn't moldy. No used needles. No filthy crack pipes. No abandoned condoms. Surprisingly soundproof. Perhaps she'd misjudged. Just a small, dinky, spooky hotel. From the looks of the hotel keys they very well may be the only check-in's in this building. A flip through the room service offered a surprising amount of home cooking and additional numbers for takeout. A tiny refrigerator with complimentary bottles of booze, not nearly of the size to get wasted and looking old enough to pass for fine vintage.

"I'm... Uh... gonna go get some ice." Maria muttered, standing up and pushing the refrigerator closed.

It was only when she'd reached the ice machine she realized she wasn't even sure what she needed the ice for. She had enough good conscience in this business to know a drunk gangster is a dead gangster. Was it just to get out of the room with Giorno? Why? Giorno and her might not have met on the best of terms, but he'd yet to actually judge her or make any sort of move on her. She sat in front of the ancient ice machine for a minute, probably too old and filthy to produce any proper ice. Instead, she opted for the old vending machine, grabbing a few sodas and, on her way back up, grabbing whatever looked newest out of the vending machine.

"No Jotaro, i don't know why she would go straight to her room after school." (Y/n)'s laugh could be heard from down the hall. "No, i don't know if it's a 'teenager' thing."

Maria slipped quietly back into the room, snacks in arms, and slowly closed the door after her.

"I've got three right here if you want to ask."

Amidst her happy chatter, Maria set the things down softly and listened. She felt like she was intruding, but it was fascinating. (Y/n) And her husband loved each other very much, that much she could tell. It was a bit of a trip seeing what her and her mother never had.

"Jotaro just go up to her room and ask her what it's about. Get it out in the air. It's better to be honest about these kinds of things. And if it is about a boy just smile and nod. Or don't. Just listen."

"I'm... uh... i'm gonna pay a quick visit, to someone i know here. Text me if something goes down, okay?" Maria muttered after a while, Giorno already boredly absorbed with the tv. He just gave a grunt of acknowledgement, and no faster did Maria take her leave. A little wave over her shoulder, and she was gone.

* * *

It'd been a while since she'd let herself into the old safehouse. Long enough that she'd jammed several keys into the keyhole before finally turning the lock. The place was clean, at least. It wasn't much, just a bare bones flat made for hiding from the law, or a place to sleep when they eventually all got evicted for their rent. Still... It'd been her first home away from home. With a heavy sigh, she stepped inside, shutting the door after her and dropping her jacket right onto the back of the couch and soon followed by herself laying over the back of it.

She'd never figured she'd be taking this shit up, for all she spat and groaned about the 'Zeppeli Family Duty'. Hell, till a few days ago she'd only dreamed about the Pillar Men. A figment of terrible bedtime stories and her own imagination that Esidisi or Kars would come crawling from under her bed and snatch her in the night.

And now, luck of luck, her fears were indeed legitimate.

Fate had a funny way with the Zeppeli's.

"You look stressed." Maria glanced on eye open, to see Melone at her side, stretched out much in the same manner. For all his perverted nature and disgusting 'collections', She and him had come to respect each other. Well... as much as a woman and a certified pervert could.

"That's not even half of it." Maria groaned, closing her eyes again and rubbing them.

"So... the job's not all that great, huh?" Melone hummed, pushing a few strands of purple hair out of his face to get a better look at her.

"It's going fine. It's just... damn. Turns out this rabbit hole is deeper than it looks." Maria groaned, letting herself slump further down the couch's back till eventually she sat with her legs over the back and herself spread out on the seat. Melone just reached around her neck, allowing Babyface to crawl back onto his arm and up his own neck.

"Sounds like a story." Melone hummed.

"And one i've barely got any time to tell." Maria sighed, turning over on her stomach.

"You're booked for the night at the Meritz and we've still got the champagne from Formaggio's birthday." Melone shrugged.

"Both fair points." Maria shrugged, looking in thought. "I'll get the glasses and two more bottles."

"I'll get the cheese." Melone stood.

"No. Ice cream." Maria groaned, standing and starting to pull the jacket back on.

"Any complaints about Sorbet?" Melone called.

"None whatsoever!" Maria yelled as the door shut after her.

* * *

This was certainly the last situation Dio ever expected to be in. While sharing a body you weren't in complete control of was an ordeal of itself, one Dio was quite familiar with... It was another when that body was, one, a completely different gender, and two, one he could only control on a concious level. He'd hardly complain, he was sharing a body with you, in the small mercies the world offered. But when one was a being of the night, and oft disregarded need for sleep... To be forced to be subjected to, of all things, his mortal enemy's married life?

It took every fiber of his being not to smother Jotaro in his sleep with that starfish couch pillow he spent most of his nights on.

It would be just barely bearable if he had to watch just that. But in some twisted turn of fate between you two's shared immortality, he not only had to watch that. He had to see everything.

The sex about as comparable to watching two pieces of sandpaper grind against one another.

Every morning you'd set out a coffee for Jotaro before he left for the Aquarium.

Black. No cream, no sugar.

A tuna bento for lunch.

Send Jolyne to school by at least 8.

Kiss Jotaro goodbye. Lips, full contact. Sometimes tongue.

'I love you' text. Every day. 8:30.

You'd head out to the S-City Botanical Research building of the S-City College.

Take dirt samples.

Measure the corpse flowers.

Set the sampler for 25.30.

Work.

Come home.

Again, kiss Jotaro when he comes home.

Cook dinner.

Put in The Little Mermaid.

Tuck Jolyne in.

Possibly sex.

Go to sleep.

Rinse and repeat.

For nearly 14 years he'd been subjected to this. Watching his mortal enemy's boring, daily home life. To think, the unruly teenager that had successfully reduced him to such a state was now a product of the very system he so announced to hate. Perhaps a parallel could be drawn, between Dio's old life and Jotaro's own. But Dio wouldn't hear it. If this was such a punishment as god had chosen for him. If this was indeed, 'hell'. Then it was aptly named.

But then... after all of that, there were little moments like this at the end of the day.

Moments where he had control.

And now those little moments brought him here. It was a tiny little convent, neither a grand cathedral nor a homey shack. Pucci had never aimed high, nor low. The building... suited him.

It was small. Stone walls. Seemingly self-done masonry. The roof needed a bit of thatching. It almost reminded him of the tiny convents when he'd been a poor child. Buildings offering sanctuary in exchange for absolute devotion to the one lord above. His mother had been fond of such, and had suggested he send himself to one not long before she died. He'd spat on the idea, back then. Why should he submit himself to an absent being in exchange for something as basic as food?

Now, though... He understood the appeal. Just a bit, though. After all, that absent being had both blessed and spat on him many times. It had sent him to the Joestars. It had put him and Jonathan into a downward spiral of never ending rivalries, wether it be with him or his descendants. It had blessed him with his beautiful wife, who he was now eternally bound to. It had put him in that coffin under the sea. It had also released him. Was it fate? Karma? Had God left him down there, would he have eventually starved to death? Or would he remain eternally trapped, with only the choice to either eternally wait for rescue or once again ponder opening the coffin and letting the sea claim him as, presumably, God also intended.

If God had a plan, he certainly had a roundabout way of handling things. Or perhaps this was simply his way of handling Dio.

With a sigh, he pushed his way into the small church, tying off the coat around his waist. Hopefully Pucci was still even here, if the man even recognized him now. Honestly, the mistake would be forgiven, this once.

"Scusi signora. I'm afraid we ended services quite some time ago. If you need prayers, i'll be happy to assist you in such. But you'll have to come back in the morning for confessional." Ah. Wether he was 9 or 29, Dio would recognize that voice anywhere.

"I have many things to confess, Pucci. Many of them too morbid for just any priest's ears..." Dio laughed, setting your purse down on a nearby bench. "So, i suspect, do you."

"Mi dispiace?" Pucci stuttered, as Dio had to hold back another round of laughter at Pucci's dumbstruck expression. "I... Have no idea what you imply, ma'am. Please, if you're not here for prayers, please leave. We have ended services for the day."

"Pucci, Pucci, Pucci. You do not truly mean that, my friend? You would cast me out into the cold?" Dio feigned a heartbroken expression, one poor Pucci seemed to take as genuine as he now seemed fairly distraught by the sight.

"I... I... I'm sorry ma'am. I spoke out of turn-" Pucci immediately started to apologize, only to again stop as Dio couldn't hold back a fit of giggles. Truly, it had been a long time since he'd been able to play such games with Pucci. Wether it was his face, or simply how well Pucci knew him, but in his old body Pucci could read him like a book, to know when he played such games and when he was actually distraught. Here, though, Pucci fell into his role as a priest like a second skin.

"Pucci, Pucci, Pucci. Have you truly cast me out of your mind so?"


	13. Chapter 13

"C'mon Fugo. At least look like you're having fun!" Narancia poked Fugo in the side, half bent over the railing to look down at the pit of the Colosseum. "Giorno! Come look at this!"

"I'm seeing it too, Narancia." Giorno hummed, leaned over the railing himself. Honestly! Narancia he could understand. But it wasn't like him and Giorno had gone to the Colloseum nearly every year in school trips to be able to recite the whole tour. He'd admit, it was grand, on a massive scale. And watching restoration workers below navigating the maze of old tunnels was fascinating. But when he'd already been exposed to it all...

"The Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheater, was built of travertine, tuff, and brick-faced concrete and is the largest Amphitheater built to date. Construction began under the Emperor Vespasian in 72 AD and was completed in just under 8 years!"

A tour guide with brown hair and blue eyes led a small group just past them, catching the attention of Narancia.

"Hey! Fugo! Let's go on a tour!" Narancia chirped as Fugo just sighed.

"Narancia we hardly have time for that-" Fugo immediately started shaking his head.

"C'mon Fugo! We're in Rome, and just for a day. Let's get a little vacation while we're here, dammit!" Narancia huffed.

"That's actually not a bad plan. We could use a little sightseeing." Giorno hummed, standing up.

"If you don't wanna go we'll just find one ourselves." Narancia waved him off, starting to follow the tour.

"But-" Fugo huffed before sighing seeing Giorno joining him. Suppose if you couldn't beat them...

"Let's get some gelato while we're getting out!" Narancia suggested brightly, as Fugo could feel the tour guide's eyes on them. She neither shooed them away nor stopped them. Just... looking at them.

"The Colloseum was built to hold, estimating, between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators, and was used for gladitorial contests, public spectacles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments, and even theater. Around the early medieval era it stopped being used for entertainment and soon after was reused and dismantled for purposes as housing, workshops, housing for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and even a christian shrine at one point." The tour guide continued, as Narancia continued looking out at the pit in awe, as if he couldn't imagine such a thing. Gladitorial battles, huh... Part of Fugo pondered on the idea of a Roman Stand Battle, out on this very field. It was probably ridiculous, such a thing wouldn't be recorded even if it were possible. But with the right space... he could see how it could be entertaining.

_Note: There is no recorded evidence of Roman Stand Battles. However, the Stand arrows are oft believed to have basis in Rome._

"Today it is known as one of the 7 Wonders of the World, and is one of the most popular tourist spots in Roma! on the upper floor here there is a museum dedicated to Eros located int he upper floor of the outer wall, and as you can see, most of the floor has been restored. Below that are connecting tunnels used to transport contestants and wild animals up to the arena. If you'll follow me we'll be making our way out and we'll go to our next stop."

"This is part of your plan, sis?" Styx huffed, pulling the New York Jet's baseball cap lower over her eyes. "We're here to stop them, not to be tour guides."

"It's all part of the plan, sweetheart." Blue gritted, trying to keep her 'tour guide smile' on her face even as three of the objects of her attention hung near the back of her group.

"The plan, huh?" Styx huffed, shoving her hands in her shorts pockets.

"Now, be a good girl and spot me an opportunity, okay?" Blue hummed, guiding the group down the stairs towards the exit of the Colloseum. "These heels are killing me. The sooner we can get this over with the better."

"What 'bout that Gelato stand over there." Styx pointed boredly.

"You'd like some Gelato, little girl?"Blue announced loudly, with fake surprise, before giving a 'kind' smile. " I suppose it is a little hot. Let's take a short rest stop, okay everyone?"

The group was all to eager to take a rest outside, and Blue and Styx quickly made their way to the Gelato stand.

"Knowing Narancia, we can probably be rid of him right here."

"Yes... but what flavor?"Blue mumbled, looking over the selection while the attendant was distracted at the back of the gelato truck.

"I don't know! Just do every one." Styx muttered, glancing over the selection.

"But what if he just likes strawberry?" Blue fussed, summoning the gremlin-like forms of Gemini, molding themselves into a makeshift of Purple Haze. "I'm not just gonna poison every single one if he's not gonna eat them. That's just... douchey."

"You're worried about coming off as a douche?"Styx rolled her eyes.

"I mean..." Blue muttered awkwardly. "It's legitimate, alright?!"

"Are you forgetting we're supposed to be stopping the people you're fussing over?" Styx snapped.

"Well... Yeah. But we don't need to go totally evil about it." Blue huffed.

"That's exactly what you're supposed to be doing." Styx huffed. "Now go on and pop them in, coward."

Blue puffed at that, giving a spiteful look Styx's way before dropping a virus capsule into each of the gelato tins. Just as they had, Narancia came skipping up to the Gelato truck, eyeing the selection with big eyes, unaware of the set of eyes on him staring with anticipation.

"Mmmmm. They all look so good... Can i get the pistachio?" Narancia called as the truck driver complied, pulling a scoop and carefully measuring out a decent sized ball.

It was like slow motion for the two, watching the capsule be unkowningly scooped up into a ball and set into a little tin.

"Mmmmmm. Make that chocolate too." Narancia added after a bit. Again, the second capsule was scooped, a pretty pair of balls of Gelato, waiting to be eaten.

_'yes... yes...'_

"That'll be 200 lira." The driver said, pushing the cones Narancia's way. Narancia fished around in his pockets for a moment.

_'Yes... yes... yes...'_

"Awwww... I think i left it." Narancia mumbled disappointed.

_'NO!'_

On impulse Blue jumped in, pulling her own wallet and pulling out a pair of hundred lira bills and handing it.

"Here. I'll get it for him." Blue muttered quietly, holding back a growl of annoyance. The truck driver took the bills as Narancia lit up in joy.

"Thank you! Thank you ma'am!" Narancia practically showered her in thanks, holding the gelato to his chest like a child held a carnie prize.

"Yeah... No problem." Blue muttered awkwardly. Narancia grinned, heading off towards the other two with gelato in hand.

_'Yes... Yes... Yes...'_

"Guys!" Narancia held the prized gelato with a grin, high over his head, exaggerating his poisoned prize. As if to once again foil the two's attempts, the gelato started to slip from his hands.

_Right._

_To._

_The._

_Ground._

"NOOOOOOO!" The two hissed, with Styx having to hold Blue back from trying to save it.

Just their luck, Giorno apparently had the same idea, summoning Gold Experience and sending a plant through the ground to save the Gelato.

"You really should be more careful, Narancia." Giorno sighed, the Gelato being safely carried back into his hands. "That was almost a waste of Gelato there."

"Sooorrrry." Narancia wailed, looking more helpless than ever as he trudged over to Fugo's side by the bench and seating himself.

"It does look good, though." Giorno hummed, delicately scraping one of the pistachio balls off with his spoon and giving a small bite. "Nice and cool too."

"Give it here. I want a bite." Fugo leaned in, as the three sat and crowded around the gelato.

_'Yes... eat it. Eat it all! Eat it till it's all gone!_" Styx and Blue watched with eager eyes as everyone took spoonfuls of the gelato and slowly started to lift it to their mouths.

"mmmmm..." the three hummed letting the Gelato sit in their mouths.

"AAAAAGHHHHH! THAT DOG JUST STOLE MY LUNCH!"

Spit.

"_**IGGY!"**_ The three growled, snapping their heads towards the grinning boston, sandwich in mouth. Gelato abandoned, they stormed after the Terrier, Giorno screaming 'Iggy' all the way across the Colloseum entrance.

"Fuck, me!" Blue snapped in frustration, Gemini splitting back into it's own forms and mimicking her own angry expression.

"Calm yourself, sister. We must be patient." Styx huffed, smacking Blue with her own tiny Gelato spoon. "We'll chase them all across Rome if we must. We have to catch them off guard at some point. Right?"

"And how do you propose we do that?!" Blue snapped, pointing at the abandoned Gelato.

"We try again." Styx snapped with a glare. "Blue Ostrica Culto. Do not tell me you are so disheartened after one try as to give up now." At this Blue seemed to calm herself, shoving her hands into her skirt pockets with a huff.

"Fine. We'll try again." Blue muttered, glancing towards the tour group and putting her best 'tour guide smile' on. "Alright everyone! If you'll follow me we'll head to our next destination!"

* * *

"Can't believe we chased Iggy all the way here." Narancia panted, staring around at the ruins of the old Roman Forum.

"I can't believe he can run that far on three legs." Giorno huffed, his curls starting to come apart and fray from the sweat as he held a struggling Iggy to his chest. Iggy just squirmed in his grasp, kicking and trying to bite on what remained of his old yellowed teeth. "Calm down Iggy. Stop trying to run!"

"This is pretty cool, though." Narancia whistled, staring around at the remenants of old structures, mostly reclaimed by the plant life and the sprawling green lawns inbetween. "We should totally get some pictures!"

"We don't have a camera." Fugo sighed, looking around a bit in awe himself.

"Maybe (Y/n) has one." Narancia suggested. "She came here on vacation, didn't she."

"Not quite a vacation, no." Giorno sighed as he lashed a belt around Iggy's collar, using it as a makeshift leash and holding it tightly as Iggy immediately tried to tug him along the green pathways. "Calm down you damn dog! Where is (Y/n) anyhow? I haven't seen her since we left for the Colloseum."

"Dunno. I don't think she said." Narancia gave a shrug.

"Most of this trip relies on us keeping track of each other, Narancia. We can't go losing each other cause we want to go sightseeing." Fugo scolded.

"I know... Hey! There's that tour group again!" Narancia perked up, pointing across the lawn.

"Right... We must've left them behind chasing Iggy." Fugo hummed. "Maybe we should follow them some more? Get a bit more sightseeing?"

"Now you're on board, Fugo!" Narancia grinned, giving a light punch towards Fugo's shoulder as Fugo just grumbled something.

"I suppose we could spend our evening sightseeing." Giorno chuckled, tugging Iggy along as the three made their way down the grass towards the group again.

"Ahhhhh it reminds me of home." Narancia sighed happily looking up and around the Roman Forum. "We used to have a garden a lot like this. I miss laying in the grass and soaking up the sun..."

"Heh. Me too, i think." Fugo chuckled, his face softening as he too took the chance to look around. Old, stone pillars with vinery and plants crawling up and around them. Green grass for as far as the eye could see, so plush one could very well lay down and take an afternoon nap. Iggy seemed to have such an idea, giving a wide yawn as he blearily looked around the beautiful landmark. Giorno could recall no such memories of places such as this. He'd oft imagined such, in his fantasies of escaping his home and becoming a Mafia Boss. In those fantasies was the face of his father, as well. Though he well knew the man was dead by now, he'd often imagined as a boy meeting the man himself. Often times in a garden such as this one. Up until he'd recieved the picture in his wallet, he'd imagined what the man's face looked like. It had usually been a mesh of his own, and what he'd pictured as handsome, and manly at the time. Being a child's imagination, it had been hugely different in comparison, but not far off.

His birth mother had only spoken of the man once, at his urgency. Tall. Muscular. Insanely so. Beautiful, by men's and women's standards. Godly, really. Silver-tongued. Charming. Attentive. Gentlemanly. A seductive, deep voice. Red eyes, like swirling red pools trapping one's soul until one was completely and utterly bound to him. A most curious scar, perfectly circular around his neck. By some magic, or seduction, he had completely encapsulated his birth mother's heart, in a moment. Still did, he secretly suspected. But as quickly as he had captured her heart, he, or she, had released it just as fast. And just as quickly, his mother had been back to her same old ways. Still trying to fill a void so massive he suspected only his birth father would ever fill it again.

Personally... His father could do so much better.

But this was his own birth he was talking about.

Maybe his father was more sentimental than Giorno gave him credit for. After all. The man had given thought to create a will, and entrust his worldly possessions to his firstborn son.

Or perhaps he was simply giving too much credit to his father.

"Citizens of the ancient city often referred to this space originally as a marketplace, the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum." They had gotten closer to the tour group now, and the tour guide was still guiding, waving the tourists along with a little blue flag. Along with her, the little girl with white hair was still following her, with a New York Jets hat firmly planted right on her head hiding her face. "For centuries the Forum was the day-to-day life of Rome. The site of military processions, a venue for public speeches, criminal trials, and even some gladiator matches! And above all, the heart of commerce."

The tour guide guided them along, eyes still on them as she waved her flag along the Forum leading them through the maze of pathways, through the various remnants of stone marble pillars and archways and past the ruins of various Roman structures.

"You may start to notice some statues and monuments along our journey here. They are of the city's greatest men, the teeming heart of ancient Rome. The archways you see here are remnants of the city's shrines and temples to the Roman Kingdom's earliest gods. To your left here is the Regia, the ancient former royal residence, and beyond that is the Temple of Vesta and it's complex of Vestal Virgins."

Giorno hummed, taking a moment to glance at all of the statues.

"Hey Fugo! That one has your face!" Narancia laughed, pointing at one.

"I-i don't look nearly that serious, do i?" Fugo stuttered, squinting at one.

* * *

"Hey sis. They're starin' at statues now. Here's your chance." Styx muttered as the group stopped to take photos. Blue leapt at the chance of redemption, pulling off her tour guide hat and picking up a ladybug off the ground.

"I've been mulling this over since we passed the Temple of Vesta. I'm going to use Giorno's Gold Experience to turn this ladybug into a bullet. And then we'll use Aries's air pressure ability to send it shooting towards the top of the Temple, and using my thumb i can measure where we need to ricochet and hit the three right in the noggin!" Blue said eagerly.

"I... don't think Gold Experience works how you think it does, sis." Styx said skeptically.

"Just trust me on this! I've done my research. Giorno's barely used Gold Experience before now. He'll have no time to react. And we can make off before anyone's the wiser!"

"... I think you're desperate, sis."

"Is it obvious?" Blue whined, immediately looking disheartened.

"But... I suppose we can give it a shot." Styx gave Blue a pitying look for a moment, before taking the bullet. Just as before, Gemini merged into the form of Gold Experience, forming the ladybug in it's hands into a single, small bullet.

"You think we can take them out with one bullet?" Styx sighed, fingering the bullet skeptically.

"Dammit, we'll try!" Blue puffed, nodding her head. "Gemini and Aries are strong stands. Nirvana said so herself! So we've gotta succeed! We're destined to! Now come on. Fire!" Blue urged, holding her arm out towards the Temple of Vesta. "A little more... Aim just short of the top of the middle column." Styx did as instructed, the air circulating violently at her fingertips around the bullet, as gravity found itself suspended for a moment as the bullet started to lift. For Blue, however, it was choking. It was every breath she made was sucked right out of her lungs into the air vortex.

"Please hold your arm just a moment longer, sister. I can't aim when you're shaking like that." Blue mumbled, completely unfazed by the vortex. Just as she spoke, Blue gripped her shoulder, causing her to release the vortex and send the bullet flying off into the pillar.

"I... Can't... breathe..." Blue choked, coughing and sputtering. Apparently Giorno's group caught notice of this too, Giorno being the first to rush over.

"Can you breathe?" Giorno asked as Blue just sputtered no.

"Are you choking?" Giorno asked with concern. Blue nodded. Immediately, Giorno moved behind her, pulling hard and quickly pulling her by the stomach against his back. Blue's face immediately went red as such, as she actually started to choke on an inhale of air as Styx could only blink in horror. They had moved from the spot! The bullet was going to miss! Damn you, Blue!

Narancia attempted to help the only way he knew how: Beating on Blue's back as she tried to hold back both a fit of coughs and her red face.

"Hey, idiots. I think she's fine now." Fugo sighed as Narancia briefly stopped his beating to see that Blue had stopped coughing and was now trying to hide her very red face.

"Are you alright ma'am?" Giorno had come around, taking her hand in the most gentlemanly way possible and looking at her with concerned eyes.

"I...I... I... Uh..." Blue blinked with a hoarse voice. Were his eyes always that green? They were so... expressive. Like with each emotion they changed in hue, from a deep forest green to nearly matching the green grassy knoll they were surrounded by.

... Why were they trying to kill him again?

"Your face is very red Signora. You should be more careful." Giorno sighed gently.

"I... I..." Blue stuttered before giving a very girlish sigh, grinning goofily. Styx groaned in annoyance. Seriously Blue?

... Gemini.

"It'd be most unsightly for a face like yours to die by choking." Giorno hummed with a kind smile before kissing her hand softly and letting it drop.

Aaaaaand they'd already lost.

"If you're done flattering Giorno check out these pillars!" Narancia yelled as Giorno just chuckled, excusing himself with a bow and turning back to join his friends.

"Did you see the way he looked my way?!" Blue squealed, hugging herself in glee.

"Seriously?! That's the guy you're supposed to be stopping." Styx rolled her eyes, poking Blue in the side.

"I know, i know! But he's such a gentleman! Did you see the way he kissed my hand?!" Blue squealed, already batting her eyelashes Giorno's way. Giorno wasn't even paying attention to her now, rather absorbed with the tour and his gang members.

"Damn Gemini's." Styx rolled her eyes, giving a stern kick to Blue's shin, briefly snapping her out of her fangirling.

"Owwww..." Blue whined, rubbing her shin.

"Anyhow. Your bullet?" Styx pointed as a tiny shine flew between their heads and right towards Giorno.

"Ahhhhhh... I'll never forget you, GioGio!" Blue whined, already looking like she'd burst into tears at the thought. Just as the bullet hit Giorno's braid though, it bumped right off his head, falling to the ground without a sound, nor wound.

Blue let out a sigh of relief.

Styx let out a hiss of frustration.

"Dammit!" Styx snapped.

"So it only changes the form, not the mass or weight of the object, hmm?" Blue hummed with a dreamy smile.

"Focus! We've still got a tour to finish, and damned if we won't finish our mission today!" Styx huffed, snapping her fingers in Blue's ear. Blue just batted her eyelashes, staring at Giorno with love-struck eyes.

"Uh... Tour guide to earth." Styx huffed, as that seemed to get Blue's attention.

"Right!" Blue sat straighter, setting her hat straight on her head and holding her little blue flag aloft, practically skipping to the front of the group to resume their tour. Normally, Styx would be ecstatic that her dear older sister had found love. But of all things, the very guy they were sent to Rome to stop?

Maybe Blue was more desperate than Styx had feared.


	14. Chapter 14

"Our next stop here is the Pantheon!" Blue said cheerfully, a fresh, glowing smile on her face despite the miserable heat felt by most of the tour group. "We'll be making our way inside soon enough, rest assured, it's air conditioned. But i'd like to speak about the outside here for a moment.

"You think they used Stands to build it so big?" Narancia whistled, looking up at the building.

"Probably people." Fugo hummed, glancing up as well.

"Why do you think it's so big?" Narancia wondered.

"It's a temple Narancia. It's for worshipping the old gods. It's important." Fugo explained.

"The Pantheon is a church now, but it was once the site of worship for the gods of Rome. It actually sits on an older temple, commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus. It was completed later by the Emperor Hadrian and eventually was dedicated in 126 AD. It actually contains the old inscription from the former temple, from before it burned down." Blue said with a wave of her flag, motioning them to follow her in. "You'll notice the building itself is cylindrical. The front has eight corinthian columns carved from granite, and inside here..."

Narancia blinked in awe as they entered, to see the infamous dome above. Right in the center was a perfectly circular dome shining down into the room and flooding it with light, like a light from Heaven itself.

"The dome is concrete, and is very much in it's original state. It's completely unreinforced, and rests wholly on the building itself. It is over two thousand years old and has never had a reported accident. It's one of Rome's best preserved buildings, and has been in continued use since the 7th Century. It's very much unique and one of a kind, and the structure itself has been copied many times by later architects, especially after the classical styles were revived." Blue chirped happily, flitting through her various note cards as the group took the moment to examine the structure itself.

"In 609, the Byzantine Emperor Phocas gave the building to Pope Boniface the fourth, who converted it into a Christian church and consecrated it to St. Mary and the Martyrs on 13 May ,609: "Another Pope, Boniface, asked the same to order that in the old temple called the Pantheon, after the pagan filth was removed, a church should be made, to the holy virgin Mary and all the martyrs, so that the commemoration of the saints would take place henceforth where not gods but demons were formerly worshipped." Twenty-eight cartloads of holy relics of martyrs were said to have been removed from the catacombs and placed in a porphyry basin beneath the high altar. On its consecration, Boniface placed an icon of the Mother of God as 'Panagia Hodegetria' (All Holy Directress) within the new sanctuary."

"To this day it is still a Catholic Church where Masses are held every Sunday, and even some weddings are held here!"

"Definitely a Stand." Narancia whistled, looking up at the dome.

"Not every great piece of history has to be the work of Stands, Narancia." Fugo shook his head. "Sometimes normal people can surprise you."

"Hey, Giorno, why're you all in the shadow like that? Come look at this!" Narancia waved Giorno over, who was determined to sit near the entrance.

"I've had too much sun already today. I'm getting a burn." Giorno shook his head determined as Narancia tried to pull him more into the light.

"C'mon ya vampire. A little sunlight won't kill ya. Take a look at this view!" Narancia insisted, trying to pull the taller 15 year old into the center of the room.

"I'm serious! I'm getting a burn. All this sunlight's giving me a headache. Let's just find somewhere with a lot of shade." Giorno huffed, refusing to move.

* * *

"Alright! Since you've been compromised, it's time that Aries has to step in." Styx huffed, bringing the hat lower over her eyes. Blue was barely listening, holding her notecards to her chest and giving wistful sighs Giorno's way. With a huff, Styx lashed out, bringing her foot hard down on Blue's. Gemini stopped her, catching her foot just before she could stomp down on Blue's.

"Hey. Earth to Blue Osteria Culto." Styx snapped, waving in Blue's face.

"Hmm? You were saying?" Blue blinked down her way, keeping that dopey smile on her face.

"Have you completely forgotten why we're here in the first place?!" Styx growled, stomping her foot.

"I know, i know. We're here to stop Giorno and the others from continuing on Nirvana. Let me enjoy my last moments with the man, would you?" Blue waved her off, turning back to look at the three practically bouncing on her heels.

"You've been compromised. It's time for me to take over." Styx snapped, catching Blue's attention again.

"Compromised?" Blue blinked, before smiling, reaching down and pinching one of Styx's cheeks gently. "You get this cute little vein on your nose when you get angry." Styx blinked, before holding her nose with a glare.

"Have you completely lost focus?!" Styx snapped.

"I haven't lost focus. I know what our primary objective is. But i can respect our opponent."

"Respect?! You're infatuated!" Styx accused.

"Indeed. I am." Blue sighed wistfully, twirling one brown hair on her finger. "And as is a consequence of young love, i must bid my love farewell while our love is yet unfounded."

"That makes no sense whatsoever!" Styx huffed, stomping her foot.

"Heh. Perhaps not. But when does love ever make sense." Blue sighed, smiling. "But. With a heavy heart, i carry on. I shall defeat Giorno for the glory of Lady Nirvana."

"You've only met the guy today. He saved you from choking on your own clumsiness." Styx grumbled.

"True. But such is how young love is!" Blue sighed with a smile. "And thus, i must bid him farewell just as quickly. I do so with a heavy heart, but Lady Nirvana shall always have my heart first, and foremost."

"You really are hopeless, sister." Styx groaned. "But fine. What's your plan this time."

"This time is sure to work! I have realized my mistake, in our earlier attempts. I have been too direct." Blue spoke more seriously, dropping her wistful smile for a thoughtful one.

"Too direct?" Styx scoffed, raising one eyebrow.

"Indeed! You see... we keep trying to kill them ourselves. What we need is an unfortunate accident." Blue hummed.

"An accident." Styx blinked, actually looking thoughtful now.

"Indeed. Accidents happen every day in Rome." Blue chirped happily. "We just need to find one for Giorno and the others to find themselves in."

"How about we go with my plan, for once." Styx interrupted.

"Eh?" Blue glanced down her way, looking rather surprised. "Your plan?"

"I was going to hold this one off till we got to the Bocca Della Verita... But..." Styx tugged Blue down by the collar and whispering into her ear.

"Isn't that a little overkill?" Blue gulped.

"Better to be thorough than sorry." Styx nodded firmly.

"... Okay..." Blue sighed, but nodded. "We'll go with yours, i guess."

* * *

"Hey, Giorno. The sun's starting to go down. Think we should split and get back?" Narancia yawned, glancing up at the orange sky.

"One more stop, and then we'll go." Giorno nodded, wincing as he tried to zip up the front of his jacket. His chest had already been practically branded by the sun, in the shape of the front of the jacket. Fugo had it slightly worse, as he'd been subjected to spots of sunburn. Seemingly Narancia had been the only one to come out unscathed.

"Heh! Your face is all red, Giorno!" Narancia laughed as they walked, walking backwards to face the two.

"I got this on your behalf, you know." Giorno shook his head.

"Even then... i had fun today!" Narancia sighed happily. "Maybe we'll move out here, when this is over. Rome looks fun!"

"Rent is probably a nightmare here." Fugo gave a concerned glance Narancia's way.

"Oh don't start with that!" Narancia whined, kicking a stray rock Fugo's way. "Hey! Let's get a camera since we're gettin' near the shops. We might as well have a couple pictures."

"Just an instant! And only the cheapest one!" Fugo called after Narancia as he started to run across the street towards a small general store.

"You worry about him too much." Giorno chuckled after a while.

"Someone has to! He knows better than to stray into the business, but..." Fugo fussed, frowning as Narancia disappeared into the shop.

"It's not bad, to let him explore on his own a little." Giorno shrugged.

"It's... not bad. No. But... Narancia's reckless. Once he gets a taste of freedom he wants more and more and more and eventually..." Fugo shook his head before gulping. "... I don't want to talk about this. C'mon. Let's get this tour over with and then we can all go back to the hotel."

There was an air of fear, around Fugo. Suppose him and Narancia were kindred souls, that way. They'd both had their fair share of being kicked around by society. Where Narancia laughed in it's face and carried on, Fugo let it simmer, and swell in his heart, till eventually, one day, it would explode, on himself and everyone around him. The duality brought a small smile, to Giorno's face. In a way... even if Narancia pissed Fugo off, they were good for each other.

Part of Giorno wondered if he'd ever share such kinship with someone the way they did. But... knowing his father's history, the more people he got close to, the bigger the mess it would leave when eventually one after another would move on, leave, or betray him. Such was human nature.

... When did he start waxing poetic?

* * *

"And here we are! The Trevi fountain!" Blue chirped as the tour group came to a stop at the massive fountain. "It is one of the largest Baroque fountains in the city and the most famous fountain in the world! It was designed by our own Nivola Salvi and completed by Guiseppe Pannini and several others! It marks the meeting point of the Aqua Virgo, one of the aqueducts that supplied water to ancient Rome. In 19 BC, supposedly with the help of a virgin, Roman technicians located the source of the water, and it's depicted here on the face of the fountain. It led the water into the Baths of AGrippa and served Rome for more than 400 years, and even today."

"You can tone down on the tour guide voice." Styx muttered.

"How are we even going to do this, sis? The Gelato was our plan. I pulled the stone plan outta my ass." Blue sighed.

"..."

"..."

"..."

!

**Good Idea!**

_"Pretend to be Narancia!"_

"Heh hee! You're a genius little sis!" Blue grinned, her eyes shining hopefully.

"Don't thank me yet! You're the big part of this plan!" Styx reminded her.

"Right! I've never done a person before..." Blue hummed as Gemini appeared at her side, trying awkwardly to hop onto each other as they'd done hundreds of times.

_Nope._

_Nope._

_Nope..._

"He's right over there. You've got a reference." Styx pointed out, pointing to their side where Narancia was at the far back of the crowd, trying to find Fugo and Giorno. Gemini perked up.

_"Piri?"_

_"Piri."_

_"Piri piri?"_

_"Piiiiiiiri!"_

After a few tries they finally managed to merge, into one Narancia.

_"Piiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrriiiii!"_ Gemini cheered, in a poor imitation of Narancia's voice.

"... Okay so it's not perfect. But you guys can do it!" Blue encouraged, as Gemini's face fell into an almost tearful expression.

"You're really gonna put your faith in that and hope no one will notice?!" Styx huffed.

"It's all we've got at this point!" Blue whined. "Just keep the real Narancia away for a while. I'll see you tomorrow morning!"

"Wait-" Styx yelped starting to turn to stop Blue and Gemini. They were already gone.

* * *

"Finally, Narancia. We thought you'd gotten lost! Did you get the camera?" Giorno sighed in relief.

_... The camera._

Gemini yelped, patting Narancia's pockets desperately.

"Don't tell me you went in there and forgot!" Fugo sighed, giving Narancia a hard pat on the back. "What did you do?! Just go in there and stand around?!"

Gemini gulped, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking at the ground.

"It's okay Narancia. We all forget sometimes." Giorno stepped in, setting a hand on Narancia's shoulder. "Well. Since we're not getting any pictures, guess we should just go straight back to the hotel."

"Might as well. Overall today was a decent bit of vacation." Fugo hummed, setting his hands behind his head and starting to lead the way back to the hotel. "Eh, Narancia?"

Gemini gulped, before just nodding.

"Hey, Narancia. Since we're headed back, why don't you show me that trick you promised." Giorno said after a while.

_Hold up. Tricks? Narancia does party tricks?! What kind of tricks could a kid like this possibly have?!_

"You know. The one." Giorno prompted, seeing Gemini pull a confused face.

"Yeah. You've been saying you'd show us it sometime." Fugo prompted as well, glancing back their way. "Come on. Do it."

_What trick?!_

"Piri." Gemini let out before covering his mouth with a gasp.

"Piri?" The two echoed back.

"P-p-p-pee. Pee! PEE!" Gemini started yelping, laughing nervously.

"Geez, not so loud! Where's your shame?!" Fugo scolded, smacking Gemini over the head with a tour brochure. " You've gotta pee now?" Gemini just nodded furiously. "Fine. Let's find a bathroom, then. There's plenty of businesses around. We'll just dip into one for a second and let Narancia relieve-"

"Just a moment, Fugo." Giorno interrupted. Fugo's lips tightened at being interrupted, but stopped. "We're away from Naples now. Nirvana has made it very clear she wants us stopped. We're in enemy territory now."

"True. True." Fugo nodded thoughtfully. "We don't have much choice but to go in a public place, though."

"I say he's safer back at the hotel."

_**THE HOTEL?!**_

"All the way to the hotel? You think he can hold that?" Fugo glanced back at Gemini with concern.

"A man can do anything when he's desperate." Giorno shrugged. Gemini could only gulp, shoving his hands into his pockets closer around his crotch. All the way to the hotel?! Did they do this to Narancia a lot?! What kind of bladder was this kid known for?! There was a feeling of fullness right around his gut, reciprocated right back to his user.

_Great! Now i really do need to piss!_

"Hey Narancia... What're you doing with your thumbs?" Gemini jumped, glancing slowly back at Fugo. Fugo's eyes were on his hands. Gemini had to bite his lip to keep from speaking.

"I've told you more than once. It's bad luck to show your thumbs like that." Fugo sighed, pushing his thumbs back into his pockets.

_Does Narancia have some kinda tic where he never sticks his thumbs out? Since when is it bad luck to show your thumbs?!_

**_Who even notices something like that?!_**

"Especially with Nirvana likely chasing us as we speak. We need all the luck we can get!" Giorno added, consciously rubbing one of his ladybug pins.

"She's probably watching us right now. There could be a stand user in this crowd right now waiting to get the jump on us." Fugo said, glancing over his shoulder. "It could very well have been that tour guide we were following."

"It could be anyone in the city. It could even be one of us." Giorno nodded.

"Now why would you say that? If i didn't know better i'd say you were implying something." Fugo huffed.

"It very well could be me." Giorno nodded. "That's why we can't trust anyone on this trip."

"Judging from how quiet Narancia's been, i'd say it was him." Fugo said, leaning to look Gemini in the face.

"You have been very strange, Narancia. Is something the matter?" Giorno asked, leaning in as well.

_Do they know?! Are they dropping hints?! Should i run for it?! No... No they want me to run for it. I can still do this. I just gotta play it off. Yeah... play it cool._

Gemini just gave a halfhearted shrug, biting his lip.

"Seriously Narancia. Is something going on? Did you see someone in the store?" Fugo looked more concerned.

_He's kinda cute when he looks so worried like that..._

Gemini just shook his head, refusing to look at either one.

"We've gotta be on high alert on this trip, Narancia. If you see something..." Giorno prompted, elbowing Gemini in the ribs.

"Nah. Narancia's no traitor. Besides. I doubt Nirvana has anything he'd want." Fugo shrugged, backing off.

"But that's exactly what a pretender would want you to think." Giorno pointed out.

**_Please stop talking about this!_**

"True... Are you a pretender, Narancia?" Fugo was back, setting a hand casually on Gemini's shoulder.

"No smart pretender would answer yes to that, Fugo." Giorno rolled his eyes as they approached the front of the hotel.

Gemini felt a sharp pain in his gut. He wouldn't hold it! He couldn't hold it!

_Gemini! You have to hold it! Please!_

"Bathroom's on the second-" Giorno started, before being shoved out of the way by a speeding Gemini. "... Floor."

**_Yes! Yes! Yes! I got into the hotel, I've infiltrated their group! I did it! I..._**

**Blue Osteria Culto**

**Stand: Gemini**

**Status: RETIRED**

_Blue was arrested in Rome outside the Meritz Hotel for defecating in public. She is currently in jail awaiting bail from her partner, Styx._

**Styx**

**Stand: Aries**

**Status: Retreated**


	15. Chapter 15

"... And it's like, he's just a kid too. He shouldn't even be on this trip." Maria huffed, setting her glass down.

"Mmm." Melone hummed, having abandoned his own glass on the table. At some point they'd found each other on the floor of the flat, just a few feet apart from each other.

"And there's nothing really special about him, ya know? I mean, it's his skinny 15 year old ass against two Pillar Men and their Stand users. What's he gonna do?!" Maria huffed, running a hand through her hair.

"Mmm hmm." Melone mumbled, setting his hands behind his head and looking like he was already going to doze off. Lightweight.

"This kid just... ugh. I don't know." Maria sighed, reaching for the bottle across from her on the floor. "He's all goody goody. Doesn't give a damn what anyone says to stop him. But he cares about his gang. I mean, don't get me wrong. He's stupid. Incredibly so. He talks big shit about taking over Passione one day, takin' the drugs off the streets. That's never gonna fucking happen. He's real charming about it though. He kinda teeters on kissing ass, but he says whatever he needs to to get someone on his side."

"He sounds like you." Melone muttered, suppressing a yawn.

"Oh shaddup!" Maria muttered, pulling the couch pillow from her gut down onto Melone's.

"Say what you want about the kid. But you know he's probably going to have his ass wiped if he goes charging in on this 'Nirvana'." Melone pointed out, taking the pillow and turning over on his stomach, laying his head on it to stare at her.

"I say he deserves it for being foolish enough to take this up." Maria huffed.

"Think 'bout why he's doing it though. For all the powers the crazy hundred year old Vampire woman has, she's just one person." Melone hummed, reaching up on the couch and tugging the blanket from the couch's arm down onto himself, along with the top and mask he'd abandoned about halfway through their drinking. "You'd lose your shit if one of us ended up dead cause of a crazy pillar woman, god forbid something happened to your mom."

"Hmm." Maria just grunted, letting a comfortable silence fall between the two. Well... He wasn't wrong. Hell, she'd talked the same big shit when she joined. Believed it too. _Suppose if this kid were to sieze the gang the way he talked..._

A gut feeling told her he'd be fully capable of doing such.

Just a gut feeling though.

Though... that could also be the 2 bottles of champagne kicking in.

Maybe it just irritated her to know that for as naively goody-goody Giorno played it, he had more balls to seize his dreams than she ever would.

"Hey. Who do you figure the boss really is? I mean... outta all of us, you met his dinky little secretary." Melone slurred.

"Call it a conspiracy theory." Maria hummed.

"Okay?" Melone prompted.

"I think the dinky little secretary i met is him." Maria hummed.

"Whaaaaat?" Melone groaned. "I was asking seriously!"

"And i answered seriously. I really think that's him." Maria shook her head. "Think about it. This isn't a comic book, the boss can't look super super evil. Playing dumb like that throws people off. 'Specially cops."

"Yeah... but how'd an airhead like that ever make it to the top, then?" Melone muttered, opening his eyes and looking in thought.

"Now you're asking the right questions." Maria hummed. "I mean... Me personally? I think he blew someone but hey, might also be family. Never know these days."

"Ewwww." Melone groaned.

"There's a sound i never thought i'd hear from your mouth." Maria chuckled.

"I have standards, just low ones." Melone huffed. "Honestly though, who wants a blowie from that guy?"

"Doms come in all shapes and sizes nowadays." Maria chuckled softly. "Honestly though, mafia or not, who isn't blowing someone for a position these days."

"A fair point." Melone shrugged. "Maybe we're all hyping ourselves over nothing then, if that's actually how it happened."

"I think that's how it happened." Maria shrugged, standing up.

"You're leaving already?" Melone groaned, turning his head back to look up at her.

"I have to." Maria yawned, stretching a bit along with several pops along her spine. "This was fun. We should get the whole gang together, when i get back."

"Will do!" Melone hummed. "Hell, let us know when the boss eventually invites you to complete the delivery. Snap us a pic."

"I'll try for a selfie, if i can." Maria said, pulling her jacket on and shoving her keys down into the pocket. "Don't burn the place down, don't get the cops, and don't get blood on the carpets."

"What am i, a latchkey kid?!" Melone huffed, turning over on his side.

"Sometimes? Yeah." Maria giggled softly. "Night, Melone."

"Night Capa." Melone yawned, giving a halfhearted wave goodbye.

* * *

"... Tell me something, Pucci. What, do you imagine Heaven looks like?" Dio hummed, setting your jacket gently down among your purse and coming to stand complete in front of Pucci. While it wasn't his normal height over people that he so lorded ever since he'd first arisen in Jonathan's body, he sufficiently trusted the power held in your own body.

And if that wasn't sufficient, he was certainly itching for a chance to exercise what remained of The World.

It seemed it would not come to such lengths, as Pucci stopped for a moment, seemingly considering the question.

"Would you believe me, Pucci. I had seen it. It was only a flash. A sinner's glimpse." Dio said, a smile growing on your lips as he could see the wheels turning in Pucci's mind. The slow realization dawning on his face. The slow rise of his eyebrows. "I'll tell you this. You need to start revising those bibles of yours. What's written there isn't even close to what I've seen."

"Lord..." Pucci blinked, before being cut off by soft laughter from Dio.

"I'm sure you'd love to hear a dying man's record of what Heaven looks like. But i'm sorry to tell you, you'll find the written word isn't even sufficient to what i saw." Dio chuckled. "And i'm sure all of this was deliberate of God. To give me a sinner's glimpse of what could be, and then send me back to this hellhole. It certainly is a little dimmer, after what i saw. But i'll play along."

"I... I have many questions, i must admit." Pucci said, his expression brightening before being replaced by confusion.

"God, i'm sure you do. But trust me when i say once i explain, 10 more will probably appear in their place. For once i don't have all the answers, myself. But... after all this, maybe it'll be time to make a dedicated effort towards my predicament." Dio chuckled.

"Sorry... But... 'after all this'?" Pucci asked.

"Much as i'd like to say i walked myself all the way from Morioh to come see you... i'm afraid my circumstances are a bit more dire than that." Dio sighed, starting his old habit of a slow pace up and down the aisle as Pucci himself had to sit down to take the new predicament in.

"I... i'm afraid i need context." Pucci said, eyes on Dio.

"Right... Understand, even my host doesn't completely understand the situation at hand." Dio said, setting hands on your hips.

"Understood. Please. Take your time." Pucci nodded.

"Of what i can piece together..." Dio started, with a deep inhale.

The silence was so long between them, Dio almost wondered if Pucci couldn't believe him.

"I don't need you to believe me. Nor do i need you to put yourself at risk for my sake." Dio spoke, attempting to fill the silence.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Pucci was silent, for a long time. But Dio could see it on the priest's face. The gears turning. The neurons firing. The muscular re flexing throughout his brain as the chemicals in his brain reacted to him thinking, piecing a picture together of what Dio had just told him. Pucci could be surprisingly open minded, for a priest. Perhaps that was what Dio so admired him for. He held the ability to suspend his disbelief. To take a scenario so ridiculously insane, outright blasphemous at times by typical priests, and take it into context. To piece it into something a normal person could almost call reasonable.

Perhaps one day, when he had the chance, Dio would make his way back here. Maybe actually sit through one of Pucci's sermons like he'd always claimed he would.

"I confess... I don't quite know where to begin, friend." Pucci finally spoke, meeting Dio's look with quite an adorably confused expression. Dio just smiled, seating himself in the pew across and kicking the (F/c) heels off your feet.

"It's quite a messy picture to paint for someone, i'll confess." Dio admitted. "Perhaps i'll be able to paint a clearer one once this is over."

"I'm a bit lost at this... Nirvana, you called her?" Pucci asked, sitting up.

"Indeed?" Dio hummed. "A thousand year old hag who thinks to usurp the very world i rule."

"Nirvana... Nirvana..." Pucci mumbled, testing the name on his tongue. Pucci could make the cutest expressions, when he was thinking. It was a process, really. Confusion. Then thought. A debate, from time to time. He'd bite his inner lip, ever so slightly. And then the final realization. A slow brightening like a child finally realizing a concept, and couldn't wait to share it. Dio gave a pleased hum as Pucci bit his lip, gently. "The name is... intriguing, i must confess."

"A transcendent state in Buddhism in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self. A subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. The final goal of Buddhism. A state of perfect happiness. Paradise." Dio recited.

"Is that how she imagines herself, i wonder." Pucci hummed in thought.

"Oh i'm sure. But i imagine what she pictures of freedom from desire and suffering is far from happiness." Dio grumbled.

"Is that professional jealousy i sense." Pucci said, a small knowing smile appearing on his lips.

"Hardly." Dio huffed. "But it's something i can't have when it does come time for us to take Heaven."

"You could consider yourself and the Joestars aligned, for once, then?" Pucci hummed. Dio made a disgusted noise, but grunted in confirmation.

"The situtation is to my benefit, is all. I will cooperate where needed, and i trust (Y/n)'s judgement. I will merely reap the aftermath." Dio huffed.

"... You're taking this news of having a son rather well, i notice." Pucci said. At the mention of such, Dio brightened, slightly.

"You think so? I must confess... I was rather shocked, when i first found out. I... did not even consider the idea that Jonathan was still viable. I nearly starved down in that coffin, after all. I didn't consider that Jonathan even still had nutrients to still be... bodily functioning. I'm not complaining, of course." Dio added after a bit. "It did't particularily matter to me wether it was functioning or not. But... I've always wanted a son, i suppose."

"For someone so matter of fact about it, you seem rather happy." Pucci chuckled. "I suppose a late congratulations are in order."

"You can read me that easily, hmm?" Dio hummed, his eyes seemingly far off in thought. "... Yes. I suppose you could say i'm... Well. Happy doesn't really feel sufficient. But yes. I'm happy."

"Do you intend to reveal yourself to him?" Pucci asked. Dio's pleased expression changed to a more troubled one. Of what he'd seen of his son, he could already tell they'd be at odds. It wasn't that he was disappointed in Giorno. He saw much of himself, in his son. If anything, Giorno had inherited his ambition. The idea that he would gladly kill his Mafia boss, and anyone who defended the man to sit at the top, left Dio with a sense of pride. But the skill Dio had often prided himself on, and of what he could tell, Giorno had inherited, was his ability to read people.

Giorno was a good person. Too good.

To be blunt, Dio was in much of the same seating as his Mafia boss now. Dio had found himself taking a fondness for people who reached for their own dreams, and acted on them, much like Giorno was in the process of doing. It was what he had first admired of (Y/n), given the time they both had come from. But where Dio sought to sieze the world by the throat, and take what he wanted of it, Giorno merely wanted to sit atop it. Control it. He had no doubt Giorno would frown on much of the things Dio had done in the process of attaining his power, and the things he'd done with his power. And he had no doubt that there, would be where their relationship would come to a screeching halt. Giorno would find it his responsibility to stop Dio, and no doubt once again Dio would find himself in conflict with his own son. Especially if Giorno caught wind of the things Dio planned in his mission for Heaven.

All in all? Giorno and him would get off on a good foot. And then Dio would proceed with his plan to attain Heaven. Giorno would object to his methods. Cue ensuing battle.

Normally he'd say give it time, and perhaps Giorno would change, in the course of this battle against Nirvana.

But something told him that Giorno's morals were very much set in stone, even if Nirvana somehow managed to loosen him up to the idea.

It seemed Jonathan just had to get his 2 pences in. Even from beyond the grave.

... When had Pucci left?

Dio blinked, sitting a bit straighter. For all the pondering he did, Dio prided himself on never losing awareness. Being distracted was a human trait. But... at some point between him mulling Pucci's question over in his mind and now, Pucci had already left. Dio was already gearing himself up to chase Pucci, rebuke him for leaving in the middle of their conversation without so much as a goodbye...

But he realized he didn't even know where Pucci had disappeared to.

Had he, Dio, been distracted, even for a few moments?

...

Hah. He really could be an idiot.

It'd been so long since he'd been on the receiving end of his own trick.

There was a Stand somewhere in this City.

Suppose it was bound to happen again someday. He really shouldn't be so shocked about it. Especially after Jotaro.

Ah well. Not his fight. Not his problem. Seemed not much had changed between the slums of 1880 and the streets of 2001. If it wasn't your fight, and it didn't involve you, keep your head down and keep walking. Pulling your jacket back on, slipping the heels back on your feet, and pulling your purse back over your shoulder, Dio proceeded to leave the church.


	16. Chapter 16

"Lady Nirvana. I have returned." Nirvana turned towards the voice, shifting in the plush lounger. Kars always had chosen excess over practicality. Especially in his choices of hideouts. "You had not specified how many you wanted. But i believe these should be sufficient, my lady." Santana had taken her hand, his large hands wrapping over her smaller ones.

He guided her hands along a tray, running her fingers along a series of various sized gems. Yes. Yes these were the ones.

"Yes. These will do nicely." She said, taking one of the stones.

"If i may ask a question. My lady." Santana said tonelessly.

"Go on." Nirvana stopped, taking her hand back to rest back on the lounger.

"What are your plans for the Zeppeli." Santana asked. Nirvana sat up, frowning. "Clarify." Nirvana said. "The Zeppeli clearly has it's own interests. Once it achieves its goal against the old one, it's duty as a Hamon Warrior will be to destroy us next." Santana said.

"You forget, Santana. The Zeppeli is not trained in the ways of Hamon. She only has the talents of such. She is no threat once you've backed her into a corner. But. She is more than capable of eliminating the old Zeppeli." Nirvana said firmly, though her grip on the stone stick tightened. "And once we've given you your Stand, she'll be far too cowardly to try to attack."

"You place much value on these Stand users. And yet the Joestars have eliminated the three we sent." She sat up at this news.

This was new to her.

"When." She said seriously.

"Last night." Santana replied.

"My lady, the vampire must be your first target. I insist. She poses the largest threat." Santana turned back Nirvana's way, as she ran her fingers along the stone in question. "Lady Nirvana. Allow me to intercept them. I shall retrieve the Red Stone, in your stead." Santana immediately offered, kneeling before Nirvana.

"... No." Nirvana said, softly, but sharply. "No. You will stay here, by my side. Allow the Stand Users to do as they will. Do not place your want for revenge above your duty to me."

"My lady... A question, if i may." Santana muttered.

"... Go on." Nirvana hummed, her hand running now along the sofa before settling on her walking stick.

"Are you afraid of the Vampire and her group?" Santana said, hesitantly. Rather than be met by indignation, or anger, Nirvana just hummed in thought.

"... For all that Kars was brilliant, he had a fatal flaw, facing the Hamon users." Nirvana stood, leaning on her staff as she stood and crossed the room towards the smashed out window, staring out towards the moonlit outside. "He cast aside all fear, and believed fear should be but a weakness. He killed our people, for having fear of the stone mask. He reveled in the fear he set in the hearts of the Hamon tribe. But without fear, he became overconfident, both in himself and those he called comrades. Fear keeps you aware. Fear brings about respect, for your enemy and their abilities. And fear drives you to find a resolution, that you might overcome it. Fear sharpens your focus. And without this, Kars met the end he did by his own foolishness and overconfidence. To answer your question though... Yes. I am afraid." Nirvana sighed, turning back to face Santana.

"And that fear will drive me to defeat them. Even as inexperienced as they may be, i acknowledge the fact that they are very much capable of defeating me, or you. And for it, i shall be aware, when the time comes. I will not let my guard down, nor will i allow myself to be distracted. That fear will drive me to plan around their abilities, and eventually, bring about their defeat." Nirvana spoke, her expression slowly changing to one of sheer determination. For once, in a very long time since Santana had known her, her blank eyes shone with something... something that stirred in Santana. He could not quite find the name to describe it, if there was even such a name. But it drove him to even more ensure her safety and see her succeed.

"Thank you for your wisdom, Lady Nirvana. I will take your words to heart." Santana mumbled humbly.

"No need. I'm just rambling now." Nirvana chuckled awkwardly, before clearing her throat. "Hmmm. I suspect they've either reached Paris or are currently on their way there... I suppose inform Sagittarius, Leo, Aries, and Taurus. I suspect the group shall press on anyhow, but if any of them can even slow them down... or buy time."

"Yes, my lady." Santana muttered, slowly excusing himself out of the room.

"... Who knew a rock from the sky could make such a mess, Kars?" Nirvana mumbled, tightening her grip on the walking stick.

* * *

_***Meritz Hotel***_

_***Giorno***_

He was woken at 3 in the morning to the sound of a woman dry heaving in the bathroom. Followed by muffled sobbing.

He half considered rolling over and pretending he'd slept through it. She wouldn't have come on this trip if she was knowingly pregnant... right?

She had been joking about the drugs, right? If she was drugging up right in their hotel room, just hours from them crossing Italy and the border...

She said she'd gone out with a friend earlier. She'd confirmed they'd been drinking. Champagne. Too light to be completely wasted.

What if someone had slipped her something? What if she was choking out just meters from him.

The possibilities ran through his head with increasing urgency, till impulse compulsed him to stand up and quietly make his way towards the bathroom. Another round of heaving. He couldn't smell any particular drugs. Though who knew how hard the drugs could be with Passione.

Raising a hand hesitantly, he knocked sharply on the door.

"Hey. Are you okay? Do you want a doctor?" Giorno asked.

Silence, followed by the clatter of a toilet dropping and sniffling.

"Uh... No. No. I'm okay." She spoke, sounding quite hoarse through the door. Growing more concerned by the minute, he reached for the knob, giving several hard jiggles. Locked.

"Hey, is everything alright? Why'd you lock the door?" Giorno demanded, backing up ready to kick the door in.

"It's alright. I'm alright. I... I had a bad dream. Something i haven't thought about in a long time." Maria muttered, sounding like she was coming closer to the door before there was a sound like sliding down the door. Now that was something. A bad dream woke her up heaving into the toilet at 3 in the morning?

"I... Uh... Do you want me to go get (Y/n)? Or... I can just leave you alone for a while..." Giorno muttered uncomfortably.

"Uh... No. No. I mean, don't go get (Y/n). But... Don't go either. I don't really want to be alone right now." Maria gulped, sounding like she was holding back another wave of sniffles.

"Just sit here?" Giorno softened a bit, taking a seat by the door.

"I guess... Or... Never mind. Just go back to bed. Sorry i bothered you. I'll keep it down." Maria mumbled through the door.

"You're not a bother." Giorno said defensively, before setting his head on his knees.

"Trust me. It's nothing glamorous. You're better off not hearing it." Maria insisted.

"You're crying. It's something." Giorno insisted.

"I am not crying. I just have some- okay. I am crying. But if you tell anyone about this i will smother you in your sleep and dig you a shallow grave in bum-fuck-nowhere, France." Maria sniffed, accompanied by some shifting on the other side of the door.

"Swear on my soul." Giorno assured her.

"Just leave me alone, would you." Maria muttered.

"Tell me what's wrong." Giorno said gently. "You're crying and you've locked the door. I'll sit right here until you do. Neither of us is going anywhere."

"... You're really gonna sit there?" Maria mumbled, sounding like she was going to tear up again.

"Yes. And i will until you tell me-" Giorno was cut off by another burst of muffled sobs from the bathroom.

There was a long silence between them as he waited for her to finish crying. She certainly wasn't a glamorous crier. She snorted. She gasped. She blubbered, her words half formed in between incoherent sobs. Nonetheless... he wasn't irritated. He just waited, patiently. As the sobs came to a gasping stop, she tried to recollect herself, with more sniffs.

"... Sorry." Maria mumbled, with the slightest of sniffles and hiccups.

"Go ahead. Get it out if you need to." Giorno insisted. "If it's... helping. Please do."

"How many ladies fawn over you with those lines, i wonder." Maria sniffled with a shaky laugh.

"Just certain ones." Giorno sighed, cracking a small smile.

"Alright... Well... It's a bit of a heavy topic." Maria mumbled, shuffling what sounded like she was coming closer to the door.

"I'll hear it." Giorno assured her.

"Well... Okay." Maria mumbled, with a sharp blow of her nose. "Let's just say... Well. I'm not really in Passione of my own will."

Giorno's first thought leapt to a drug debt.

"... I used to be a model student. For my school." Maria sniffled. "IQ of 175. Just a few points higher than Fugo there. Well... There was a teacher there. Let's say he liked to..." There was another choke like the start of another wave of sobs before she composed herself again.

"... Well let's just say he took his liberty fondlin'. Most of the female population had been felt up at least once or twice. He... liked me. To the point where i got to being 'teacher's pet'. It got bad... Almost every other day, it seemed. I... I just wanted it to stop. I didn't want to hurt anyone. I wished he would stop. I wish i could make him stop. And then... I had enough. I wanted to expose him. I wanted to turn the whole school against him. I wanted... I wanted him to feel everything he'd done. I... Left a pretty nasty letter when he was taking up papers in class. Listed a whole bunch of shit, mostly calling him disgusting. A pervert. You can figure. I... got more creative towards the end though. I... Listed some very explicit and detailed ways i wished he would... kill himself." Maria muttered. "I felt good about what i did, for sure. But i spent that whole night scared shitless that the cops would come smashing down my door. Or that i'd go back in the morning and get expelled."

"You did a good thing." Giorno immediately said. "You shouldn't feel guilty exposing that pig of a man."

"... I did way worse than that." Maria choked out a weak laugh. "... I... went back to school that morning. And was immediately told school was cancelled. that everyone go home until further notice. It... turned out he had come across my letter. And... proceeded to follow through with the instructions i left for him. He'd... killed himself. Right then and there at the school. In all the ways i wanted him to. It... it felt good. I mean. It was messy. And well, rather gory for my young eyes at the time. Or... anyone's eyes for that matter."

"I probably shouldn't ask what you told him to do, should i?" Giorno asked hesitantly.

"I can tell you that when i'm in better shape to tell." Maria mumbled. "Anyhow, like any dumbass who just discovered she had powers... I started to use them. I went after just about anyone. Getting what i wanted. A whole string of criminals turning themselves in. Even ordinary ass people exposing their darkest dirtiest secrets. I felt like a damn hero. I thought i was cleaning up my home, and doing right by the people in it."

"... I probably should've figured someone would match up the events and the suicide. I didn't figure i was doing so wrong as to get the boss of Passione's attention. But... Well. I really can't talk about what i saw, or about the Boss himself. But he was... impressed. Either with my efficiency or how fast i was growing as a Stand user. He said he could make the suicide go away." Maria mumbled. "In retrospect, now, i probably could've done it myself. But he said he could wipe the slate entirely. No evidence. No body. Nobody would even utter a word about the case. Like an amateur, i took it. I was desperate. I had a shiny clean record, a high IQ, and perfect marks. Jail time would've taken away any future i thought i could make for myself. True to his word, he did... But i owed him one now. So right outta the bag, he wanted me to run gang work, wether it collided with my school schedule or not. And for whatever genius reason... he put me in Narcotics."

"Narcotics?" Giorno echoed, baffled by the choice.

"Heh. I learned so many damn euphamisms for drugs and getting high. I could simulate the effects in words alone, but let's just say the people in the business are less than forgiving. I couldn't operate at their standards, nor at their speed. So they lost patience with me. Pretty soon i ended up swapped out to drug running instead of drug production. Purple Rain was a real asshole to work with. You had to be toking just to tolerate him. And the deals. Man it was rough just charging Passione's pricing. You did it knowing you wouldn't see a pretty penny of it either. But with Purple Rain over my shoulder, i just kept my head down, and measured out grams to deal. By the way, don't sell to tourists. They'll find any excuse to cheap out. Had one accuse me of putting a penny in the bottom of the baggie to charge him extra. Buddy, do i look that hard for cash?! Anyway... Eventually Polpo himself moved me out, since Narcotics complained how bad i was for business and how much i sucked. So... He passed me off to the Boss. Again. Can't talk about him. But... Eventually The Boss heard my last name, and i guess figured he'd struck gold suddenly. He moved me straight to Capo status, and gave me the new La Squadra to call my own. And that's... pretty much where i am now." Maria mumbled. "Anyhow. I... had a nightmare. About the suicide again. Just remembering it makes me sick now. Just the things he did..."

"Do you regret it?" Giorno mumbled.

"The fact that he died? Not in the slightest. But... Well. I guess you can't really relate. You've never killed someone before." Maria mumbled awkwardly.

"Maybe not. But if it's causing you this much pain..." Giorno insisted.

"Yeah... I get ya." Maria sighed, the most of her sniffling having gone halfway through the story. "Thanks for hearing me out. Through all of my nasty sobbing, and bringing you down with that mess..."

"We're a team now. And we'll probably find ourselves rooming again at some point. If talking really helps... then i'll hear it all." Giorno hummed softly.

"Heh. It did help, i guess. I've only talked to Risotto about this, once. He's... not really an emotional dump, or so i found." Maria sighed. "But thanks, for listening. You didn't have to. But you did."

"If you've got anything else you need to get off your chest..." Giorno offered.

"Nah. That's it for tonight. Just that. I'm... I'm coming out now." Maria sighed, with some more shuffling and eventually the door unlocking. Stepping back to let the door open completely, Giorno was met with the sight of a red faced, bed headed Maria, her chosen sleepwear of a 'Game Over' Pac-man shirt and a set of shorts balled and wrinkled at the ends, wrung and used for tears. As far as he could tell, there were no telltale needlemarks on her arms, and though her eyes were red and puffy, she seemed fairly clear headed. "Sorry again. I woke you up..." Maria mumbled shyly, stepping out of the bathroom on shaky legs.

"It's alright. Take your time." Giorno assured, unconciously reaching for her shoulder to help.

"I'm good, i'm good. I'm just... I just want to lay down a bit..." Maria mumbled, gently setting his hand down and making her way back to the beds. Or rather, his bed.

"Er... Are we both going to..." Giorno said awkwardly as she grabbed a couple of wrinkled pillows from her bed, setting them down the middle of his and making a sort of pillow wall.

"I just need the company. You go back to sleep. Stay on your side, i'll stay on mine." Maria huffed, patting the other side of the bed. "Just... let me lay down a little."

"... Alright." Giorno sighed, coming around the bed onto the other side of the pillow wall, tucking himself back under the covers. There was a shifting from the pillow wall, and as he turned over, he could see Maria had quietly moved the pillows to look at him. At a distance, it had always looked like she had solid, forest green eyes. But now, face to face, he could spot little flecks in the iris. Spots of brown among the green. They blended just so, in the darkness. barely noticeable. But they were there, in a slim brown ring just around her pupils. Even the green itself brightened and dulled at will. Like the sun shining and shading over a grove of trees. Letting out a huff, she turned back over in the bed, letting him catch only a glimpse over the pillows of her black hair splayed out on the white pillows. What did they look like when she laughed, he wondered.

* * *

"_... And then your grandpa blasted Kars right into the sky and sent him waaaaaaay up into space._ We don't know where he is or where he went, but we know he'll never come back to earth ever ever again. Your grandpa got fished up by some fishermen, got his metal hand, and then married your grandma Suzie." (Y/n) sighed with a smile into the phone, reciting the story as if she'd told it a thousand times.

93, to count.

"She passed out a while ago, babe." Jotaro's voice came in softly, followed by the background of soft snoring.

" And you let me keep going?" (Y/n) chuckled, as there was a shuffling followed by a slight groan of Jolyne's bed as Jotaro lifted himself from the tiny girl's bed.

"Good night Jolyne. Mom loves you." (Y/n) sighed softly over the phone.

"Good night JoJo." Jotaro could be heard, followed by a soft kiss over the phone before Jotaro returned to you.

"How's Rome?" Jotaro asked as there was the click of a door in the background.

"I didn't end up doing much, actually. The kids ended up going out. I had to extend our travel arrangements here at the hotel... I was thinking our anniversary. Pull some strings with Joseph, we could come back here. Either together. Or with Jolyne. It'd be good to travel a little without people hunting down our heads." (y/n) said hopefully.

"Rome huh. Make it a whole tour, if you want." Jotaro hummed in thought.

"Heh. I think I've had enough tours for a lifetime. It'd be nice to just... stay in one place. Get time together." (Y/n) sighed.

"Giorno turning out how you hoped?" Jotaro asked, as there was the telltale creaking of their stairs.

"He's sweet. A real charmer at home, i imagine. But... He's a good kid, i'll give him that." (Y/n) said. "Though... i suppose we'll see what this trip brings out of him. I never was a very good judge of first impressions."

"We'll see when he starts yelling 'Wryyyy' and throwing knives left and right." Jotaro said.

"Jotaro!" (Y/n) huffed, but soon enough rolled her eyes with a small laughter. "He's not that far gone, i think. He's got a bit of a weird sense of humor. And stranger friends. But he's no harm."

"You say that now. But that's where it starts." Jotaro hummed, as there was the sound of a door closing and the creak of an office chair adjusting to his weight on it.

"Are we going to have that same discussion when Jolyne starts 'wryying' and divulging into a life of crime?" (Y/n) scoffed.

"She's not going to. She's too cute for that." Jotaro denied.

"Never say we vampires don't have charm!" (Y/n) chuckled.

"She's charming, i admit." Jotaro chuckled, before sighing. "You're really going all out, huh. Going to face Nirvana right on her own territory?"

"Face her... I don't know. But i know i need to beat her to the stone." (Y/n) said, her voice dropping.

"If the old man's to be believed, be careful. She's lived this long because she's clever." Jotaro warned.

"She's lived this long because she has servants." (Y/n) huffed. "I don't know how she's obtained their loyalties. Nor do i want to know. But i know she's going to be on the move. She's likely waiting for me to take her straight to the stone as we speak."

"You think she's following you?"

"It's what i'd do." (Y/n) sighed. "I... don't know what i'm going to do with the stone. The right thing is to hand it to Speedwagon... but is there anywhere i can put it that she can't get it?"

"Question is, are you willing to fend her off? You can't bring her home, here." Jotaro said.

"I know... But i... really don't have much option, do i." (Y/n) mumbled.

"It's your decision, sweetheart. Whatever choice you make, i'll back you up. I'll even fend her off with you. But we have to think of how we're going to live. If Nirvana's going to be out over our heads." Jotaro assured you.

"Could move to America. Jolyne could be closer to Joseph, and Suzie Q. And it'll be further out of Nirvana's reach. Depending on how badly she wants it." (Y/n) said thoughtfully.

"I'll talk it over with the Old Man. I'm... not really eager on moving. But if that's what it comes down to." Jotaro said, sounding uneasy.

"With a little luck, it won't come to that. Hell. I may just end up returning it back to the temple it came from and never set eyes on the thing again." (Y/n) shook her head, letting strands of (h/c) fall into her face.

"That's not much of a solution. That's just pawning it off on a bunch of Tibetan Monks." Jotaro sighed.

"They've got more of a chance than i do." (Y/n) insisted. "Anyhow. I'm sure you should probably hit the sack yourself."

"Just a couple more pages, a grant to file, and then i will." Jotaro huffed, before supressing a yawn himself.

"Jotaro. Sack. Now." (y/n) laughed.

"Even from halfway across the world you still voice my conscience, woman." Jotaro grunted, before there was another groan of his chair and the sound of a door opening.

"And i will continue to even if it's from beyond the grave." (Y/n) chuckled softly, before sighing wistfully. "I miss you, babe. I'll be back soon, alright?"

"Bring back some underwear. Or some coffee." Jotaro grumbled.

"I'll put it on the list. I love you." (Y/n) said with a smile.

"Love you." Jotaro replied, with just as much affection. The two of you shared a brief kiss over the phone before Jotaro's end hung up. With your own tired groan, you got up from the sitting chair and flopped back onto the bed.

And now... we wait.


	17. Chapter 17

"Culto! Up! Your bail's here!" Blue jumped, turning over in her bunk half-expecting to see Styx. It took one glance of that strange cat-like skull on her tie to make Blue immediately tense up and roll back over.

"Nope! Don't know em!" Blue gulped, yanking the thin covers back over herself. Her hands were slick with sweat. Why her?! Why now?! If she was here now... bailing her out...

"Culto! Out!" The officer ordered again, as the cell door was pushed open with a slam.

"I-i-i told ya! I don't know em!" Blue gulped, as the sound of heels clicking against the cell floor came closer. Before she could even get a proper grip on the bed, Blue was yanked out of bed by the collar.

"Get up. I'm bailing you out." The sunglasses shaded her eyes, but the curve of her blonde eyebrows conveyed her feelings on the matter for her. Blue gulped, but nodded, allowing herself to be pulled to her feet and dragged out of the cell with little resistance. If Nirvana had sent Yoshiko... Either she was going to die quietly in some ditch 20 miles out of Rome... Or Nirvana was going to have her do something else.

"So... Thanks for bailing me out." Blue chirped nervously.

Silence.

Definitely going to die.

She wasn't ready to die! She'd made so many plans! So many things she wanted to do! She'd wanted to pursue a degree! She'd wanted to buy a place for her and Styx! She just wanted to be an archaeologist for god's sake! Where would Styx go?! Who would take care of her-

A plastic water bottle was pushed into her hands.

"Drink some water if you're hot." Yoshiko muttered, not looking at her.

"Th-thanks." Blue mumbled shyly, taking the bottle with shaking hands. "S-so did Nirvana send you? To... bail me out, i mean."

Silence.

"Can i at least get a last phone call before you kill me?" Blue gulped. That made her pause, glancing back Blue's way and pulling the sunglasses down to actually look at her.

"Kill you? Why would i kill you?" Yoshiko blinked back at her with big, made up blue eyes. She'd chosen a light lavender eyeshadow to compliment them. Blue had to wonder if this mysterious father of hers had anything to do with her good looks.

_Had he also contributed to her crazy?_

"I mean... That's why she sent you, right? Cause i couldn't stop them?" Blue gulped as Yoshiko leaned in closer, till they were practically nose to nose. She could practically count every freckle on Yoshiko's nose, the way her eyes slanted just slightly, the only indicative of her Japanese heritage. Blue eyes, with just slight hints of a purple inner iris. The slightest of bumps in her nose.

Yoshiko licked her lips, just slightly, before taking a soft inhale.

"No. I'm not here to kill you." Yoshiko purred, straightening Blue's blouse just slightly before letting a hand rest on her shoulder. "In fact... I'm your new partner."

_New..._

_Partner...?_

"I watched that fiasco of a guided tour you led. For certain, it was one of the most painful things i've had to sit through. But... i believe with a little guidance, you can do better." Yoshiko hummed, taking a strand of Blue's hair in her fingers and toying with it." And that is what i am here to do."

"G-guidance?" Blue blinked, taking a step back.

"Indeed! Now, there's nothing wrong with you. Or Gemini, for that matter. But i believe you can do better." Yoshiko said softly, moving her hand down and taking Blue's by the wrist.

"You believe in me." Blue blinked back at her with gaping surprise. "But you just told me that guided tour was one of the most painful-"

"And it was. But I think your ability can be put to better use. Just do as i say, when i say it. And everything will fall into place." Yoshiko hummed, leading Blue out of the police station and moving her sunglasses back over her eyes as they stepped out into the street. Rome would be waking up soon, the gold light of the sun already lighting up the taller building's topmost floors with a dazzling glare.

"What of Styx?! I can't just leave-" Blue started to shake her head, pulling back. Yoshiko's grip got tighter on her wrist, as the gauntlets of her Stand appeared over her own hand, the bracers emblazoned with the sign of Libra proudly.

"Styx will be fine. She'll be under Taurus's care. Now come along quietly, and look natural. Alright?" Yoshiko said calmly, letting Blue's wrist go and starting down the street again.

At a loss for words, Blue could only comply, shyly walking behind her with her hands balled into her skirt's pockets.

**Stand master: Blue Osteria Culto**

**Stand: Gemini**

**Status: Active!**

**Stand Master: Yoshiko Kira**

**Stand: Def Leppard (Formerly Libra)**

**Status: Active!**

* * *

"We seriously need to make a Versace stop on our way outta town." Maria groaned, setting hers and Giorno's suitcases down with a heavy thud.

"We're on a trip to stop an ancient pillar woman and your suggestion is to go shopping?" Fugo raised one brow her way, as the four sat around the entrance waiting for (Y/n) to get dressed and join them.

"Well. The enemy knows what we look like now, for starters." Maria grunted, seating herself on her suitcase and pulling out a small, suspiciously rolled piece of paper. The contents further confirmed as she put the end in her mouth. "Half the mission is subterfuge, right? If we're gonna be stealthy about this we gotta start changing out our clothes. So. A Versace trip. We're in Rome. There's practically a store every 4 blocks."

"Why Versace though?" Fugo huffed. "Do we look loaded to you?"

"Well. I prefer Versace. You're free to trudge off to whatever store looks more in your range." Maria shrugged, casually lighting the piece of paper and taking a long puff.

"Heh! I guess all girls really do think about is shopping!" Narancia laughed.

The laughter was promptly met with a travel guide to the back of the head.

"I heard about yesterday, kid. I knew you were full of shit, but try to drain it on our enemies, alright?" Maria huffed.

"Haaaaw?! I told you guys! That wasn't me!" Narancia whined, picking the book up from the floor and throwing it back at Maria. She only had to tilt her head slightly to dodge it.

"It's alright Narancia. It happens." Fugo sighed, patting Narancia on the head.

"I heard it was a log. Was it really?!" Maria laughed, half bent over the case trying to keep her blunt lit and keep from howling in laughter.

"Shuddup! It wasn't me!" Narancia huffed, charging her way with a punch raised. Maria either didn't see it or let him get one in, taking it straight in the center of her chest before meeting the center of Narancia's with a single finger. The move alone left Narancia wheezing for breath.

"Good grief. Learn to take a joke, kiddo." Maria shook her head, pushing a gasping Narancia back into one of the chairs. "Breathe from your diaphram, kid. Breathe in as deep as you can."

"Don't do that too much. He might develop Hamon." Giorno hummed, sitting on his own case.

"Let's be honest. Does he look like the next Hamon Warrior to you." Maria said flatly, holding a red faced Narancia next to her own.

"Maybe he'll be so unthreatening that Nirvana will see how far humanity's fallen and just leave us alone?" Fugo shrugged.

"Whaddya mean 'unthreatening'?!" Narancia puffed, using his regained breath to now turn his temper on Fugo.

"Just saying. Maybe if we show her how cute you are, she might change her mind and give up on her plan entirely." Fugo chuckled.

"Cute?!" Narancia muttered, pouting now.

"heh. I'd believe it." Maria teased, pinching his cheeks like a child. "Hell. I'd go a step further and demand i keep you for amusement!"

"Stooooopppp!" Narancia whined, pushing Maria's hands off him and trying to hide his red face in his shirt.

"That's enough, you all." (Y/n) had finally come down the stairs with a rather grim look. "We need to get moving. Sooner rather than later."

"Ehhh?! We're leaving now?" the group looked up in surprise, their eyes widening upon seeing her rather serious expression.

"We've got nothing to stay for here. And the longer we stick around Rome the easier we are to track." (Y/n) said seriously, walking over to the reception desk and turning each of the keys over.

"What's with the serious look, Mrs.? Something ruffle your feathers?" Maria stood, getting a concerned expression of her own.

"I will be blunt here. We are being followed." (Y/n) turned to the group.

"Wha- Seriously? Do you know who?! Or where we picked 'em up?!" Narancia's expression turned fearful as well. "Is it one of us?!"

"Idiot. If it was one of us then nobody would ever fess up to it!" Fugo sighed, whacking Narancia over the head with a travel brochure. "Besides, why would it be one of us? We've all been attacked by at least one stand users, so far. Why would Nirvana go as far as to risk killing her own man?"

"I dunno..." Narancia mumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"No. I don't know who it is." (y/n) said, her brows turning more concerned. "I've suspected as much since we left Naples... but... I fear they intend much more malicious plots for us yet. We're best losing them in the provinces. Which is why i've decided the next leg of our trip will be by plane."

"On such short notice?! I mean... i'm not complaining, but..." Giorno blinked back in surprise.

"It's not coach, and it's not first class." (y/n) shook her head.

"Not coach... not first class... Hold up! You've got a jet?!" Maria gaped back at her.

"It's not... mine. Precisely. It's a Speedwagon issue plane, and i'm responsible to arrive with it in one piece." (Y/n) muttered awkwardly, wringing her hands awkwardly. "This isn't a party plane, alright? Speedwagon uses this one on the regular. The fact that they're even loaning it out to us speaks to how much they're depending on us to deal with this problem."

"Alright, alright, Mom. We get it. No horseplayin' on the jet." Maria rolled her eyes.

"I mean it. If you absolutely need to grafitti the plane, i expect you to clean it up." (Y/n) said seriously.

"Wha- you think i just leave my work for any idiot to walk by and read? Do you know what the death rate in Naples would look like if i did that?!" Maria blinked back as if the idea were absolutely ridiculous.

"I'm more concerned about you forgetting." (Y/n) sighed.

"We solemnly swear to be on our best behavior on a freakin' private jet. Agreed?" Maria groaned as there was a unanimous nod of agreement. Seemingly satisfied by this promise, (Y/n) gave a sigh of relief and took her luggage back up.

"Let's get moving then. Every minute we wait, Nirvana gets closer to the stone." (Y/n) said as the group collectively gathered their bags and made their way out of the hotel.

* * *

"Just try it on. I want to see how it looks on you." (Y/n) insisted, pushing a flowery black skirt into Maria's arm of growing clothes. Briefly checking her watch, they'd been at this for well over an hour. For someone who was adamant about 'only shopping for disguises', (y/n) was rather serious about fashion.

"You want me to wear all of this?" Maria muttered skeptically, holding up a flowing blue shirt with one sleeve and a delicate chain over the other shoulder.

"I just want to see how each one looks. Match them however you see fit." (Y/n) hummed, holding up a black top with a webbing-themed upper half. Seizing the top with a critical glance, she measured it up to her own chest before setting it back on the rack. "Mmmm Not my style."

"I'm starting to get concerned with what your 'style' is." (Y/n) sighed, idly examining the clothing rack again.

"I'm putting up with the grandma crap you're setting me with, aren't i?" Maria muttered, readjusting an older looking embroidered blouse. (Y/n) shot her a rather sharp glare, before turning back to the rack with more vicious movements.

"Some flowers wouldn't kill you." Giorno shrugged, idly seated by one of the displays.

"What are you even doing over here?! This isn't the men's department!" Maria huffed, pointing to the opposite aisle where Fugo was trying to persuade Narancia into a polo shirt.

"Wasn't seeing anything i liked over there." Giorno shrugged. "By the way, if that suit doesn't fit, i'll take it off your hands." Maria blinked in surprise, before briefly glancing through the clothes that had been piled in her hands. She awkwardly pulled a blue suit jacket from the pile, lined along the arm and waist in silver studs and a pair of gold wings where it's neck met around the wearer, clasps at the end indicating it was meant to close. The chest exposed into a heart shape.

"Take it." Maria shrugged, handing the jacket off to Giorno. "Y'know you're probably going to outgrow half this stuff in a year, right?"

"Considering the situation, i may be replacing it sooner than that." Giorno said, pulling the jacket on over his own and zipping it up. It fit like a glove, and the royal blue wasn't too bad either. the studs glinted the store's bright light, guiding the viewer's eyes.

Maria let out a quiet whistle of appreciation.

And then coughed.

"You wear women's clothes pretty good, pretty boy. What's the tag?" Maria gave an awkward laugh, ducking under his arm to glance at the tag. 869,061. 91. "That look like your budget, pretty boy?"

"I've got traveller's checks." (y/n) said, turning Maria over to hold a dress up to her. The thing was like something out of the Fashion Week trash bin. A black top with gold damask fabric sewn around to fit over one arm and around the waist, leaving the other arm free.

"I couldn't possible move in that-" Maria immediately started to push the dress away as (Y/n)'s eyes lit up in delight.

"the skirt is open. You have to try it! Right now!" (Y/n) gasped, wasting no time pushing Maria off to the dressing room with an intrigued Giorno. He'd yet to actually see her wear a dress yet...

"Narancia you have to pick something normal." Fugo insisted, holding an orange men's suit jacket up to Narancia.

"It's all stiff! This is your kinda stuff." Narancia huffed, pushing the jacket out of the way and staring again at the women's section. "Besides, the ladie's stuff is way prettier..."

"You're a guy, Narancia." Fugo sighed, turning Narancia to hold another shirt up to him.

"Giorno's over there." Narancia complained.

"Giorno grabbed one thing." Fugo pointed out, adjusting his grip on Narancia as he put the shirt back to pick through the rack. "And you have yet to say yes to anything."

"Fine! I guess this shirt looks alright." Narancia huffed, pulling a striped, short sleeved button up off the rack.

"You're just getting one outfit?" Fugo sighed.

"I packed plenty!" Narancia complained. "I'm getting this one cause you're making me."

"I'm not making you do anything, Narancia." Fugo insisted, continuing to pick through the rack. "But we have to think about blending in, here."

"What's wrong with what i wear?!" Narancia puffed, stomping his foot.

Everything.

"Nothing. Just pick a couple more shirts and we'll leave it at that, alright?" Fugo sighed.

"... Alright." Narancia muttered, starting to poke through the shirt rack as well. Shopping with Narancia was... a fight in itself, most days. Just getting him to compromise for a couple of men's shirts was a small feat in itself.

Fugo wouldn't even let himself think back to 'the Poptart incident'.

It wasn't that Narancia was hard to please... He was just...

Well. Eccentric was the kindest Fugo could muster.

But... taking Narancia into his home meant Narancia was now his responsibility. Even if that meant tolerating his ridiculous fashion sense. In time, he told himself.

"Hey. This red one looks kinda up your alley." Narancia chirped, holding up a suit set to Fugo. The style reminded him of his university days, but the red was a nice touch.

"Yeah. Does it fit?" Fugo muttered, peeking at the tag. His internal instinct commanded him to shove the suit right back on the rack upon seeing the price, but he refrained. One, he told himself. One outfit.

Life on the outside had made him stingy, he realized with an internal wince. He'd barely noticed an older man behind them, looking around rather worried.

"You lose something, old man?" Narancia blurted, glancing away from the rack to look at him. The term was met with a sharp elbow to the gut from Fugo, and a hiss of 'manners'.

"Hmmm? Oh, yes... I seem to have lost my wife." The man mumbled worriedly, pulling up his leopard print hat to look around.

"Well you're on the wrong side, buddy. Ladies is over there." Narancia said, jabbing his thumb towards the women's.

"Do you recall where you left her? Did she say where she might be?" Fugo took over, taking a brief glance over to the women's side. Empty.

"She said she wanted to try something on...?" The older man mumbled.

"Dressing room, then. Come on. We'll take you there." Fugo nodded, offering his arm to guide the man towards the dressing rooms. Narancia jumped at the excuse to get away from the clothes, following close behind.

"Thank you very much... My daughter Holly's a lot like you. She loves to help people..."

"Is that so?" Fugo hummed. Holly...? Holly...? He'd sworn he'd heard the name at least once from (y/n). He privately shelved the question for later.

"She takes a lot after my wife... Her name's Suzie Q." The man added, furrowing his brow in thought.

"Suzie Q. Don't you worry. We'll find her." Fugo nodded as they approached the dressing rooms. Giorno sat outside of them boredly, looking the very picture of a boyfriend who wanted nothing more than to be out of the store.

"If she's in there, she should be out soon. Here. Take a seat." Fugo offered, helping the older man sit on the opposite end of the bench, leaving a small space between him and Giorno.

"She always takes so long... Can't leave her alone for 5 minutes. She can never decide..." The older man shook his head, catching the attention of Giorno next to him. There was a long silence between them, the two staring at each other in blatant confusion and increasing tension.

"You're... but... that's impossible..." The man mumbled, peering at Giorno.

"..." Giorno remained silent, just blinking back calmly.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"So sorry. You look a lot like someone i knew..." The old man broke the silence, looking embarrassed.

"Same to you, honestly..." Giorno admitted, looking away awkwardly.

"Joseph Joestar." The old man offered his hand, that Giorno politely took.

"Mr. Joestar. Giorno Giovanna." Giorno replied, with a firm shake between the two. Joseph yelped before laughing.

"You've got a strong grip there, Giorno. You're pretty strong for a kid your age." Joseph chuckled, taking his hand back.

"I've... never noticed." Giorno blinked back, looking at his hand.

"It's quite alright, young man! I used to be a lot of the same! I don't know how Granny Erina ever put up with me..." Joseph chuckled, resting his hand back on his cane.

There was a loud snort from beneath the bench, followed by excited sniffing. Iggy, stuffed into the tightest doggy sweater (Y/n) could find, crawled out from beneath the bench, sniffing around Joseph's feet.

"Oh! Hello there!" Joseph jumped, before smiling, patting Iggy on the head. "You have Boston Terriers here too, hmm?"

"This... one's quite worldly. Sir." Giorno said carefully, slowly wrapping his fingers on Iggy's sweater. Iggy didn't seem to mind Joseph, rather jumping up on his lap and sniffing his coat.

"Iggy. Down." Giorno ordered firmly.

"No, no. It's quite alright, young man. I imagine he wants this." Joseph chuckled, reaching into his pocket and pulling out... coffee flavored gum? Iggy all too happily snapped the pieces up, gnawing the sticky brown gum in his teeth. "I'd know my own dog anywhere. And i imagine if he's so familiar with you... You must be the young man (Y/n) was talking about." Joseph hummed, suddenly looking much more coherent than previously.

"... Yes. Sir." Giorno mumbled, shifting in his seat. Something in him didn't like where this was going.

"... You really do look a lot like him." Joseph said, taking a long, critical look at Giorno.

"I've... never met him. I wouldn't know." Giorno mumbled awkwardly.

"I can tell that much. You've already got more manners than he did." Joseph chuckled, patting Giorno's knee. "I guess i should say upfront that it's nice to meet you. And i believe by blood, i'm your nephew."

"I... Uh... It's nice to meet you." Giorno mumbled, finally meeting Joseph's eyes. "I... Uh... Well. I guess i can't really say i expected to have this meeting."

"Hah! Me neither, kid. I pictured you a lot taller. And a lot meaner looking." Joseph chuckled, his face softening. "But as long as you steer clear of any blood drinking and stay on my family's good side, we're solid, as far as i'm concerned."

"Certainly, sir." Giorno nodded quickly.

"Don't get so stiff, kid! We're family!" Joseph chuckled, moving his hand to pat Giorno on the back, who visably relaxed. Resting a hand on Iggy's head, there was a new air of kinship between the two, albiet rather hesitantly on Giorno's end. Fugo decided to remain silent, and watch the small reunion play out.

"So... You're getting Dio's estate then, hmmm? Do me a favor and tear the place down? Alright?" Joseph smiled. "I imagine you'll probably find it in shambles anyhow, after we blundered through the place."

"I... don't really have a need to go to Egypt. No. But i'll fit it in." Giorno mumbled.

"Trust me, kid. You're not missing out on much." Joseph let out an aged whistle. "If it's not vampires and ruined estates, it's sand toilets." Giorno looked appalled at the idea, before letting out a small laugh.

"I wish i were making that up! The crap turns to dust and blows away!" Joseph insisted, looking baffled himself.

"I believe you, i believe you." Giorno chuckled, helping Iggy as the Boston crawled over to his lap and let out a bored huff.

"Well... I guess you probably don't know much more than what you need to know about the inheritance. If you need a place to keep it all, i know a guy, if you want." Joseph said kindly. "And i guess if you want to hear the family legend... i'll be happy to fill you in, sometime."

"Thanks... We'll see how things play out." Giorno nodded, with a warmer smile.

"Right... (Y/n) wouldn't tell me what was going on, but i imagine if it's dragged you along it must be 'end of the world' bad. She's probably sworn you to silence on this... but knock 'em dead, Uncle." Joseph said cheerfully, giving an enthusiastic smile.

"Heh. Thanks. I'll probably need all the luck i can get." Giorno admitted.

"Don't you worry a bit about that! Luck's practically in our blood!" Joseph laughed a bit. Giorno let out a small laugh of his own, before the two fell into a comfortable, warmer silence.

* * *

"We've only got a few minutes to do this. So listen close, alright?" Yoshiko explained, setting her Speedwagon hat down on the plane dash and turning in the seat. Blue was in the pilot seat, her knuckles practically white as her hands gripped the wheel. It was a small plane, utilitarian. A comfort area had been set up alongside scientific equipment. Who still used propeller planes in 2001 baffled her, but that was beside the point. The cockpit was seperated from the common area by a thin steel wall and a door. "You're going to start the ignition over to 'Both' position. Flick both Master switches to 'on'. Fuel pump down, Flaps on. Injection on. Air propeller on. You don't touch anything else. That red switch behind you is for emergencies only. It cuts all of the power, and we crash. Do not touch it unless i tell you to. Can you do that?"

"I... I..." Blue stuttered, fingering the wheel nervously.

"Repeat back to me what i said." Yoshiko muttered.

"... I'm going to... turn the ignition over to 'both'. And then i set the master switches to on. And then... i turn the flaps on?" Blue gulped nervously, glancing at Yoshiko for approval. Yoshiko just inhaled deeply, running a hand through her blonde bangs and shook her head.

"Look. Take a deep breath or something." Yoshiko sighed, setting a hand on Blue's shoulder. Blue was shaking under her, already sniffling on the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry, Kira! I can't do this! I really can't! Tell Nirvana i-" Blue squeaked, moving to stand.

"Blue. I know you can do this. Nirvana knows you can. Why would we go to all the trouble of bailing you out, nay, sending you in the first place, if we didn't?" Yoshiko said gently, setting Blue back in the seat.

"But i can't do this! You're asking me to fly a plane! We might all die-" Blue gasped, practically shrinking in fear.

"But we won't. Because you have me, and i have you. Now. Do you trust me." Yoshiko said kindly, holding her hand out towards Blue. Blue gulped, shakily taking the hand and taking several deep breaths. "We have a few minutes. Take some time to collect yourself. I need to set off the trap in the cabin. You can do this, sister." Yoshiko stood, softly holding Blue's cheek as their eyes met.

"How do you do that?" Blue mumbled.

"How do i do what?" Yoshiko asked, quirking her head to one side. The blonde of her hair caught the morning sun through the window, lighting the silky curtain of red and blonde, and even nearly translucent towards the ends.

"Every time you encourage me. I... Something in my heart shatters a little." Blue mumbled with a red face. Yoshiko blinked in confusion, before laughing a bit, and setting the pilot's hat back upright on Blue's head.

"Ah yes, I see. The power of words and the human ego. It's not me doing it, you know. You're just taking my words positively, and gaining your own confidence from it. And so you should. I believe that you can get me off this plane alive." Yoshiko chuckled, patting Blue on the head before taking her hand back. "You'll watch my back, and i'll watch yours. This'll be the quietest plane ride you've ever taken, just you see. You won't even have to leave the cockpit."


	18. Chapter 18

"I thought you said it was a jet?!" Maria groaned seeing the small utilitarian plane.

"I neither confirmed nor denied that." (Y/n) said simply. "We need to cross Europe as quietly as possible. And this is how we can do just that."

"But it's so... small!" Narancia whined.

"And just as big as we need it to be." (Y/n) sighed, with a glare that silenced the rest of the group.

"And we are your pilots! I'm Yoshiko, and this is Blue!" (Y/n)'s eyes narrowed seeing the two cheerfully step around the group and give a friendly bow.

"Pilots, hmm?" (Y/n) muttered, coming face to face with Yoshiko.

"Indeed! We may not look like much, but Blue here is one of the best-" Yoshiko said cheerfully, patting Blue on the back with a firm pat.

"I believe i informed Speedwagon that i'd like to fly the plane myself." (Y/n) cut her off harshly.

"I... Uh..." Yoshiko blinked now, at a loss for words.

"Do you two really work for Speedwagon?" (Y/n) pressed, looming over an increasingly nervous Yoshiko.

"We were indeed informed, Mrs. Kujo!" Blue blurted. Yoshiko's attention snapped to Blue, her eyes wide with shock. Blue persisted nonetheless, giving her warmest smile and waving off (Y/n)'s concerns. "And it's understandable with recent events that you'd want to fly the plane personally! But someone's gotta fly the plane back, you know."

'_Where did that come from?!_' Yoshiko spoke through Def Leppard, the cat-like stand appearing in full behind Yoshiko and staring at Blue with much of a similar expression.

_'I don't know! Just roll with it!'_ Blue gulped, Gemini practically clinging to her calves as they stared up at the pharaoh-like Stand.

"Hmm. I... suppose." (Y/n) muttered glancing between the two.

"Rest assured, Mrs. Kujo! We'll arrive safe and sound!" Blue said cheerfully, taking (Y/n)'s luggage off her hands, among the other's.

"Hmm." (Y/n) hummed, her eyes following Blue's every movement as she boarded the plane. "There's no toilet on these kinds of planes, as i recall. Perhaps we should make a quick toilet break before we leave?"

"Certainly! Certainly, ma'am!" Yoshiko nodded. "Please, take your time!"

"Riiiiight. Go ahead and take one, everyone. I don't want any accidents halfway across the Tyrrhenian." (Y/n) grumbled, shooing the group back towards the lone air shed beside the grassy field.

* * *

"She knows. Ohhhhh god she knows. This isn't gonna work. This isn't gonna work, sis. They're gonna kill us halfway through this trip and dump our bodies into the sea and we'll never-" Blue paced up and down the length of the plane in a panic.

"Would you calm down for 2 minutes." Yoshiko huffed, her eyes following Blue with a glare. "There's no way she could possibly know. And if she did, she wouldn't even get on the plane, now would she."

"Unless she plans to do something with us!" Blue gulped.

"she wouldn't fight us on a plane. That would be stupid. And she wouldn't crash the plane to be rid of us. So calm down, would you?" Yoshiko snapped as Def Leppard lashed out, gripping Blue by the back of her shirt and forcing her to sit down. "Like i said. Just do as i say and everything will be fine."

Blue just stared back, her hands clenched tight in a white-knuckled fist and letting out a series of heavy gasps. "Calm down? Calm down?! Do you even have a plan?!" Blue accused.

"Indeed i do. And for that plan, the less i tell you the better. If anything does go wrong, i will inform you then of what to do." Yoshiko stood, shoving one hand into her skirt pocket.

"How can you be so calm about this?!" Blue snapped sharply, trying to wrench free of Def Leppard's grip.

"Because panic will only make things worse." Yoshiko sighed, crossing her arms. "For your sake, please stop struggling." Blue stopped, tilting her head in confusion.

"... Tell me. Does it smell weird in here?" Yoshiko huffed. Blue looked confused at the question, before giving a hesitant experimental sniff. The confusion on her face turned to panic. The air reeked like rotten egg and old fish, choking and thick in her lungs. it wasn't long before her stomach was turning on it's contents, threatening to release at any moment. And the heat. It was a sticky humidity that clung to your skin and left a disgusting feeling on one's skin, like layers of sweat and muck that never quite seemed to go away.

"Wha... what... Is..." Blue gasped, practically choking on the words.

"A chemical combination of methane and hydrogen sulfide, in large quantity, among others. My Stand has two different capsules along it's fist and along the sides of it's arms there, along the bracers. The capsule in it's fist contains the methane compound. The secondary capsule, the one along it's arms, explodes." Yoshiko explained bluntly, unaffected by the smell or the methane itself.

"Wha... You're gonna... You're gonna bl-bl-blow us up... with them?!" Blue wheezed.

"There are hundreds of plane crashes every year. Thanks to life-saving maneuvers, people often survive them. This will be just another one." Yoshiko said plainly, as the methane in the air cleared, releasing Blue of it's effects. With a heavy gasp, Blue fell back on her back.

"This is too risky! You can't do this!" Blue gasped, scrambling to her feet and grabbing Yoshiko by the shirt. "You have to come up with a better plan!" Yoshiko merely narrowed her eyes, shoving Blue off her harshly.

"Do you have a better plan?" Yoshiko huffed, her lips tightening.

"I... Uh... I..." Blue gulped, stumbling back with wide eyes. "I... Something better than this!"

"Are you afraid of dying?" Yoshiko huffed.

"Of course i am! Anyone in their right mind would be!" Blue snapped, her foot stomping down and echoing off the metal of the plane.

"Do you believe i would sacrifice you for the sake of victory?" Yoshiko scoffed. Blue fell silent at the question. "Do you not trust me to ensure that both yourself and i get off this plane alive?"

"Do you promise?" Blue blurted.

Yoshiko stared for a moment.

And then snorted.

"Heh. Ha. Ha ha. HAH HAHAHAHA!" Yoshiko was gasping in laughter, practically bent over the seat.

"Is... IS THIS A JOKE TO YOU!" Blue snapped, snatching her by the collar and raising her fist for a punch.

"Heh he. I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself." Yoshiko chuckled, setting a gentle hand on Blue's hand. Blue halted, staring back with fading anger. "You make quite a delightful face when you're angry."

"My... face...?" Blue stuttered, loosening her grip. Yoshiko chuckled, gently prying Blue's fingers free and taking them into her own.

"Yes. I promise you will get off this flight alive. And if you do your part, i'll do mine." Yoshiko said gently, lifting Blue's hand to her lips and resting her lips right on the knuckle. "Go ahead and catch your breath outside. I will set the capsules." With a shaky nod, Blue slowly took her hand back, stumbling along and out the plane's exit.

_**Yoshiko Kira is certifiably insane.**_

* * *

"You've had this weird look on your face ever since we left the plane." (Y/n) jumped, glancing to her side to see Giorno giving an amused look. "Something on your mind?"

"Something's bothering me about those two." (Y/n) said, leaning against the side of the shed.

"So i'm not the only one that thinks they're weird." Giorno hummed, crossing his arms.

"I... Well. I don't know if i should say odd. But... something about this whole scenario leaves a bad taste in my mouth." (Y/n) sighed worriedly.

"Do they come off as Stand users?" Giorno asked, watching Blue run up and down the side of the plane with fuel tanks.

"Honestly? I can't tell. I can't even really say if Nirvana sends only stand users after us. And after knowing that we're being tailed..."

"It's not like we have much choice, right?" Giorno hummed, leaning his head back with a calm expression. "We don't know how fast Nirvana moves. For all we know she has the stone right now. We don't have the kind of time to take a train. So... for better or worse, whatever they're planning for us, if at all. We just have to play along." Giorno shrugged. "Besides. If it does take a turn for the bad, we've got you."

"Riiiiight. No pressure at all." (Y/n) sighed.

"Besides. I thought Joestars were lucky." Giorno chuckled.

"Brandos, however. Are not." (Y/n) retorted, before sighing. "But... if it helps you sleep, go ahead and believe that."

"Good grief, woman. Relax a little!" Maria came out of the shed, followed by Narancia.

"I've never been on a plane before! Is it that bad?!" Narancia whistled, his eyes wide in wonder at the plane.

"It is when it's this clunker. Prepare to be buckled in and treated like cargo." Maria groaned, casting an accusatory glance at (Y/n).

"Whaaaa?! So there's no service or anything like that?!" Narancia groaned, his face falling in disappointment.

"Trust me. You're not gonna want to eat or drink anything when you're riding in this thing." (Y/n) sighed, pushing off the shed as Fugo made his way out. "I've packed animal crackers and water beforehand. The flight should only take us about 2 hours anyhow. With some luck... hopefully my suspicions are wrong and we can lose our tailer."

"With luck, they'll realize attacking us mid flight is just stupid and we'll be off this plane safely." Maria grumbled, taking the lead as they started to make their way back across the field.

* * *

Yoshiko fell back into the navigator's seat with a groan, slamming the cabin door shut as Blue's muffled voice instructed the group how to buckle themselves on the seats and how to use the seats to save themselves in a crash.

Honestly... she'd be lying if she said she was completely confident in this plan. The group surviving the plane crash was certainly a concern, but...

If they did indeed survive this crash, only for her to end up killing herself and Blue trying...

With a heavy sigh, Yoshiko reached into her skirt pocket, pulling out a heavily taped photo. Claustrophobic, her ass. Fortunate that Josuke hadn't bothered to realize the old man could hop between photos, at least. Carefully cutting the tape and opening the family photo, she set it some distance away from herself on the navigation panel. With a gasp, the old man in the photo came to life, pulling himself half out of the photo and staring around in a panic.

"My son! Don't-!" The elder Kira yelled before seemingly realizing where he was. His eyes resting on Yoshiko, he blinked in surprise for a moment before seemingly going into shock.

"My son...? You've..." Yoshihiro said in shock.

"Not this time around, grandfather." Yoshiko muttered, pulling out a nail clipper and starting to trim away at her manicure.

"Grandfa-" Yoshihiro's voice faltered, looking her over.

"Hmm. Right. Maybe this will help." Yoshiko sighed, sitting straighter and pulling her hair back into a ponytail.

"My son was 33 and unmarried. It's impossible for him to have-" Yoshihiro huffed, though his face betrayed the connection.

"Oh, i'm sure my father was a real good boy in college. Did all of his homework, aced his tests, high marks, the works." Yoshiko huffed, resuming trimming her nails. "But one fortunate American exchange student begs otherwise."

"My son had a girlfriend...?" Yoshihiro huffed, his brow furrowing as he presumably tried to remember if Yoshikage had ever introduced such a woman.

"To my understanding it was a 6 month relationship and a one night stand. And i'm fairly certain she never contacted him about me. Otherwise your son is in a lot of trouble with child support. But... this isn't about that." Yoshiko shrugged nonchalantly, brushing the nail remains off her lap. "Let's get this out of the way. My name is Yoshiko Kira. I'm 16 years old. I am your American granddaughter. My mother thinks i'm on a nice European trip before i exchange to Morioh. When in fact, someone very important to me wants me to kill Mrs. (Y/n) Kujo, and Jotaro Kujo."

"And why tell me all of this?! Why do you even need me?" Yoshihiro huffed.

"Well. I need you firstly, because i need to know everything not to do when we get to Morioh. And secondly. I'm dying." Yoshiko said bluntly. Yoshihiro's expression went from disbelief to concern.

"Dying? Of what?!" Yoshihiro demanded.

"Simply put... my own Stand." Yoshiko shrugged. "The chemical compound my stand puts off to extend my range is killing me. Slowly. And before i eventually find myself hospitalized from exposure, I would like to finish my father's work. Maybe meet him, if i'm so lucky."

"You... want to meet my boy? Your... father." Yoshihiro summarized, looking her over.

"Well. Priorities first. If he's anything like you i expect a less than warm welcome. I just need a refresher, and what not to do. It's the least you can do for your granddaughter, yes?" Yoshiko mumbled smugly, her lips quirking in a smile.

"And if i want no part in it?" Yoshihiro said defensively. As if on cue, Def Leppard appeared behind her, explosive capsules in hand and held threateningly over the picture.

"Oh i understand, completely. It must've been quite a traumatic experience for your old bones helping your son run from Jotaro. And i understand you might not be so trusting of a total stranger claiming to be your granddaughter and your son's illegitmate child." Yoshiko nodded sympathetically.

"Then-" Yoshihiro started to pull himself back into the picture, before being yanked off the dash by Yoshiko and held up to the capsules in Def Leppard's hands.

"My stand, however. Does not." Yoshiko's voice dropped to a threatening timbre, her lips immediately turning to a frown. Yoshihiro froze in his spot, his stare daring Yoshiko to, indeed, burn the picture and indeed leave herself at a dead end in her leads to meeting Yoshikage. There was a long silence between the two, like a moment frozen in time.

"I suppose you probably don't have much to lose, old man." Yoshiko sniffed, lifting her chin. "Or much to offer, for that matter. You didn't get my father very far. What on earth could you ever do for me? I might as well just blow this picture right away and finally send you to hell for good, hmm grandfather?"

"Then do it, you snot nosed brat! Stop talking about it and do it already!" Yoshihiro barked.

"If you insist. It was nice meeting you, grandfather. And a shame this will be the last." Yoshiko sighed, bringing her scarf up over her nose and mouth as Def Leppard cracked the capsules in it's fingers. Yoshihiro didn't flinch at the sound, nor retreat into his picture. Rather than the promised explosion, the capsules leaked it's gaseous contents straight onto the picture, sending Yoshihiro into a panicked coughing fit.

"Wha... what is this?! You said you were going to kill-" Yoshihiro coughed.

"You were under the impression you were getting a quick death?" Yoshiko scoffed. "No... you don't get the honor. You're going to burn."

"I'm not going to be bullied by some-" Yoshihiro hissed before there was a knock behind her on the door. Blue was ready to take off.

"Mull it over while i deal with this. I don't expect you to trust me right away, no. But the chance to get back at Josuke and Jotaro... Think about it." Yoshiko hummed pleasantly before slamming the picture shut and shoving it back in her pocket as Blue let herself into the cockpit.

"Who's that?" Blue asked, seating herself in the pilot seat and flicking the switches as instructed, with new confidence.

"My grandfather. He wants to know how much longer i'm going to be in Europe before visiting him in Morioh." Yoshiko sighed, leaning back in her seat. "It's killer. Believe me."

"Hopefully things quiet down for you in Morioh. Do you know who you're staying with? You mentioned having exchanged in your school." Blue asked.

"Kawajiri, i think? The mom's made a spare room for me while i stay with them." Yoshiko shrugged. "We'll see, i suppose."

"Let's hope she's not a stand user too or you might find yourself going back to America faster." Blue said.

"Of what i know about her, i don't think so... though i've learned to be open to surprise, lately." Yoshiko sighed, running a hand through her ponytail, before untying her scarf and handing it to Blue. "Put it over your mouth, so you don't have to breathe it in." Blue did as instructed.

"Def Leppard's first bomb. Activate." Def Leppard's hands curled into a fist, and gave a small click.

* * *

Narancia gave a heavy cough and puked into the bag in Maria's lap.

"Let it out, buddy. It'll be over when we hit 5,000 feet." Maria sighed sympathetically, patting Narancia and Giorno's back as they rested their faces in her lap.

"This is the worst..." Giorno groaned into her thigh, reaching blindly for the bag and puking into it. "... plane i've been on..."

"It's only two hours." Maria groaned, feeling her own stomach churn as the plane shook and took a sharp turn. "HEY! AFTER BURNER! TONE IT DOWN, WOULDJA?! THERE ARE PEOPLE LOSING THEIR BOWELS BACK HERE!"

"Sorry!" Blue called back, her voice muffled by the cabin. In the seat in front of them, (y/n) looked like she was going to be sick herself, her whole body shaking as the metal railing of her seat crushed under her fingers.

"You need one too?" Maria groaned, seeing her.

"I'll... be fine." (Y/n) shook her head, growing visably paler, if possible. Just as she said that, the plane gave another sharp turn, causing the railing under her seat to finally be torn off under her fingers. (Y/n) barely minded it, continuing to curl up in the seat and breathe heavily.

"You sure? You can come sit back here too, if it's that bad." Maria gulped in concern, gently running her hand along Giorno's braid as he gagged.

"It's fine... I hate planes..." (Y/n) muttered, groaning into the seat next to her. There was a collective of groans and grunts through the plane.

"I think we need another bag..." Maria sighed, holding the paper bag up for inspection. The pair had collectively soaked the bag through at the bottom, threatening to break and release it's contents. Seeing the bag, (Y/n) sat up, pulling a small empty Ziploc bag from it and holding it out.

"Put it in there till we can be rid of it." (Y/n) muttered as Maria reached out, taking the bag.

"Yeah..." Maria agreed, carefully fitting the paper bag into the plastic one. "Is it just me or is it really hot in here...?"

"When we left it was 30." Fugo muttered, tugging on his shirt and pulling the first two buttons loose.

"And it should be cooler as we go up." Maria added. "So either something's fucked with this things air conditioning..."

"You think the enemy's going to boil us to death?" Fugo muttered, bringing a hand to wipe his eyes and brow.

"Well i got something for that." Maria huffed as Brick in The Wall appeared in front of her, reaching one arm up and writing 'Cool' on the cieling. Giving a heavy puff of it's gas-masked face and pulling it's body-length hoodie further onto it's head, it disappeared back into Maria as the room gave a brief puff of cool air now. There was a sigh of relief from around the plane as the effects were felt.

"Whooo..." Maria mumbled, falling back as Giorno resumed his position on her lap.

Narancia had moved from her lap to next to Fugo, leaning on him. Fugo didn't mind the closeness, taking the time to space out.

So far they'd been dragged along by Giorno's mother across Europe to stop a pair of evil pillar men from obtaining a Stone that could amplify the Stand Arrows, fight anyone that gets in their way, and possibly fight the Pillar Men themselves. And along the way had picked up a dog and a delinquent Capo to wanted to obtain the stone for... reasons. And this Capo might be their key to stopping the Pillar men if they can get her recently-back-from-the-dead Uncle to teach her a martial art called Hamon.

If he wasn't living it, he'd say it was some half-baked excuse to get a few days off.

Despite the craziness of their adventure in it's entirety... he was starting to enjoy himself. In all his time working for Buccellati and the gang, he couldn't say he'd entirely enjoyed the job or had any measure of fun in his work till now. The trip would have to come to an end eventually, of course. They'd go their seperate ways back into the gang. Maybe eventually even have to fight each other for some trivial matter or another. But until then... he could enjoy these little moments.

"You lookin' too?" Narancia giggled in his ear.

"Huh?" Fugo blinked back, snapping his attention back to Narancia.

"I don't blame ya. They're preeeeetttty nice." Narancia whistled quietly, leering over the seat. "Giorno's one lucky bastard right now..."

"What..." Fugo blinked back in surprise.

"I got a peek when i was pukin' in the seat. 36 D's!" Narancia said smugly.

"Are you..." Fugo raised an eyebrow.

"Wha... so you weren't starin'?! Now you're making me feel like the creep!" Narancia groaned, flopping back in the seat.

"... Talking about...?" Fugo muttered, turning back in his seat. The sight nearly made him turn right back around. She'd pulled off her shirt in the heat, exposing a black lacy bra that appeared to be, indeed, at least a D cup. He hadn't gotten a proper look, back at the springs. But the bra pushed her breasts up, making them appear fuller and giving the desired middle crevice. From the looks of things as well, she didn't skimp when it came to her tanning days either. While heavier on her face and shoulders, the tan for the most part covered her entire body, even a small line of freckles along her body and stomach. While most certainly not being the most ripped woman he'd seen in his lifetime, she'd managed a shadow of a four pack and a small pocket of healthy fat around her waist. Despite his efforts, his eyes glued right back onto the bra. Apparently something today had compulsed her to pick her thinnest, laciest bra that was better suited to the bedroom than for potential combat. The red flush to her cheeks hadn't helped matters either, letting out an exhausted moan as she slumped back into the seat panting for breath. Fugo gulped, feeling a red flush over his face.

With a firm huff, and a lot of willpower, he turned back in his seat, bunching the fabric of his shirt over his pants and ignoring the smug satsisfaction on Narancia's face.

"Pretty nice, huh?" Narancia grinned.

"I-i-i don't see what's got you all worked up. And it's just a bra. Grow up." Fugo muttered, staring determined at his lap.

"Somebody's jealous." Narancia practically sang.

"Shut up." Fugo grumbled, smacking Narancia over the head.

"I betcha Giorno's gotten a look at them already. They got stuck together last night didn't they...? And they've been pretty close all day..." Narancia sighed.

"You're a real class act, you know that?" Fugo huffed, holding his palm threateningly over his head again.

"I don't know... they'd be kinda a cute couple, wouldn't they?" Narancia shrugged, rubbing his head.

"I think you need to grow up. And you need to learn something about objectifying." Fugo huffed.

"What's 'objectifying'? Can ya eat it?" Narancia asked.

"It means you're thinking about my boobs." Maria mumbled from the back seat. Narancia jumped, immediately turning in his seat and looking apologetic already.

"I-i-i wasn't looking! Fugo was! Sorry about him! You'd think he'd be better than havin' pervy thoughts about a girl, ha ha!" Narancia stuttered, already shrinking in his seat.

"As a matter of fact they're 34 D's. i wear a push up to make them bigger. And Giorno and i are on a speaking basis as teammates. He has not seen my boobs. And with that approach, you won't see mine or any other woman's within a 50 meter range. So learn something from Fugo here and keep it in your head. Alright?" Maria spoke bluntly, staring Narancia down with a cold glare.

"... yes Ma'am." Narancia gulped, shrinking back into his seat and facing forward with a shamed look.

"... But thank you for informing me that my breasts are nice." Maria added after a while. Fugo choked back a small laugh, as it was Narancia's turn to turn red faced and embarassed. Across the plane, even (Y/n) was having a small laugh at Narancia's expense.

"Shaddup!" Narancia huffed weakly, hiding his face in his shirt.

"Whew... What smells like dead fish in here...? Did you let one rip, too?!" Maria groaned, taking one of the empty water bottles and chucking it Narancia's way.

"I didn't! For real this time!" Narancia whined, dodging the bottle.

"Gahhhh... We're going to be stuck this whole ride with that damn smell!" Maria groaned, kicking out at Narancia's seat.

"Quiet down, you two. The smell's not going to go away with you two yelling. Just bear with it." (Y/n) sighed, seating herself up and pulling a sleeping Iggy closer to her lap. The two fell into a quiet, with Maria huffing and laying back in the seat and Narancia leaning on Fugo's shoulder. It really was like having four Jolynes.

Just treat it like a car ride. Eventually they'll entertain themselves and it'll go quiet.

* * *

Giorno groaned, turning over in Maria's lap. When had her... Oh.

Before he could focus too long on the sight that had been offered him, the smell hit him like a wall. It was like having slept in a fishery. The plane reeked of dead fish. Enough to send him into another vomiting fit, Giorno shakily sat up and glanced around. The group had, for the most part, fallen asleep. (Y/n) must have a stronger nose than him, to stand such a smell...

Bringing his hand up to rub his face, he blinked at the words written. Had Maria pulled some sort of prank...?

_'I want a pizza Margherita.'_

Some food did sound nice right about now... They'd forsaken breakfast to make the plane...

_'Buy some body wash. Hotel soap sucks.'_

The hotel soap had been rather coarse on his skin.

That... was his handwriting.

When had he written this?

Why had he written on his arm...?

Zipping his jacket down and pulling it off, he found messages up his arms and even across his body. When had he written these?! Was this Maria's idea of a joke...?

No... She hadn't seen his handwriting beyond the hotel.

The fish smell... writing notes... forgetting... The heat... The nausea he was feeling now even as the plane had levelled out...

He'd recalled reading an article back at the hotel, when he'd been waiting for Maria to finish showering...

It'd been a local problem in Rome. Old homes having gas leakages and residents complaining of a fish smell and... forgetting.

Something on this plane was leaking gas.

With a hard shake, he reached out to Maria and (y/n)'s shoulders.

"Maria! (Y/n)!" He hissed. Neither one moved, slumping over in his hands. They'd both been knocked out...

He was on his own.

Before he could stumble to his feet, the smell became a lot stronger, followed by a sound like feet walking along the plane. Not taking chances, Giorno rolled back over into Maria's lap, resuming his previous state. Letting his eyelids flutter just to where he could see through his lashes, he was able to see their attacker in it's entirety. A stand. The capsules at it's fist hissed, producing more of the gas that had attacked them in their sleep. The stand walked among them, coming to Narancia and Fugo first. Pulling a pair of capsules from it's wrists, it examined their faces closely. Narancia shifted more onto Fugo, sending it's attention snapping towards Narancia. He'd read somewhere that humans produced more heat in their sleep... Did it go for the highest temperatures...? Just as he started to move from Maria's lap, the stand switched it's attention onto him, coming straight to his face. Right... Movement produced heat from bloodflow... It used the heat from movement to pick it's targets.

The stand reached out, taking his head in it's hands and examining him closely. He just had to hold still...

The stand didn't seem to give up easily, turning his head over in it's hands. The smell was stronger from it's hands, choking him as he was forced to breathe in more of the gas. He was going to cough... The stand was either waiting for him to cough or choke first...

So...

hot...

The stand dropped his head.

Shakily picking his head up, he blinked back at his rescuer.

Brick in The Wall had taken a handful of empty water bottles, and written 'sizzle' on each one. The stand chased one such, as it rolled around the floor of the plane. For every water bottle it caught, it smashed into the floor, letting a capsule from it's wrist drop down on the bottle. Upon impact, the capsule exploded, using the gas in the air to amplify itself and swallow the bottle entirely.

So the stand used such a gas... to expand it's explosions.

Brick in The Wall threw another bottle and again the stand chased it, smashing it right out of the air. Brick in the Wall used the distraction to hand him a bottle, and motioned to drink.

Right... drinking would hydrate him, and lower his internal temperature...

The users were, no doubt, one of the pilots. And no doubt once they were out of bottles to throw, the Stand would proceed with it's plan of exploding the plane. He'd just need to cross the plane with Brick in the Wall's help.

Water bottle in hand, and a spare in his pocket, he made the slow walk towards the front.

Within the first step, focus was back on him. Just as it had raised it's fist to strike at him, another bottle was thrown, and the stand distracted again.

He had to move. Slower.

_One step._

_..._

_Water._

_..._

_Two steps._

_..._

_Water._

_..._

_Three steps._

_..._

_Four steps._

_..._

_Another water bottle._

_..._

_..._

_Five steps._

_..._

_Six steps._

He reached out to take the cabin door handle in hand.

They were out of bottles.

The stand came charging, arm raised for Giorno's head.

Gold Experience lashed out, ready to shield him from it.

Just as it had, however, there was a familiar buzzing from above them. Aerosmith dove right in front of him, with the word 'sizzle' written crudely on it's side and guiding the Stand away from him. From his seat, he could see a shaky Narancia stood from his seat, taking Aerosmith's distraction to make his own dash to the front.

"Heh... You looked like you were gonna wet yourself there." Narancia coughed, but grinned back.

"I... Uh... Thanks... " Giorno mumbled, holding back his own cough as Aerosmith flew high over the Stand's pitiful punching. Like a cat clawing desperately for a bird.

"They're in there, right?" Narancia turned his focus over to the door, their hands reaching out for the door.

"Yeah... be ready. I imagine she can take direct control once we open this door." Giorno said quietly as Narancia gave a nod.

"One... Two... Three!" With a sharp yank, the two threw open the door, coming face to face with a less-than-pleased Yoshiko. As expected the Stand took it's focus off of Aerosmith and immediately turned on them.

"Two little mice still awake, hmm...?" Yoshiko muttered, lifting her chin as she stared down at them.

"So you're the user, huh?! Yer probably one of Nirvana's, aren't you?!" Narancia accused.

"Wouldn't you like to know..." Yoshiko muttered. "I'm trying to kill you, aren't i? And i'm sure you're very much full of confidence after handling my brothers and sisters in such a manner. But... I think you'll be disappointed to find i'm not like my siblings."

"Blah blah blah, evil villain talk. Let's just get this-" Narancia's voice came to a slow stop. It took Giorno a moment to realize what was happening, and reached out, keeping the door open as the scene replayed out behind him. At his side, (Y/n) was heaving cold breaths, struggling to hold herself up against the doorway.

"You're... welcome..." (Y/n) huffed, holding the neck of her jacket up to her face trying to block the smell.

"So. While we've got 5 minutes. What's the plan?" Maria huffed at his side, Brick in The Wall and marker at the ready.

"Wing it." (Y/n) huffed.

"Like... wing it wing it, or..." Maria blinked before staring at (Y/n) for a while. "Oh... Oh... You're a real nasty woman when you want to be."

"I am when you threaten my family." (Y/n) growled, setting a protective hand on Giorno's shoulder as time resumed.

"They should be-" Yoshiko hummed, turning in the seat. Before she could scream or yell for help, Brick in the Wall snatched her by the hair and dragged her out of the cockpit.

"SISSSSSSSS!" Blue screamed, scrambling to rescue her.

"KEEP FLYING YOU-" Yoshiko hissed before being dragged to the far side of the plane. "YOU CAN'T DO-"

"Giorno. Say something cool." Maria hummed, slamming Yoshiko into the wall and starting to draw a line from the floor of the plane up.

"Arrivederci." Giorno said after a moment.

"What he said." Maria shrugged as the mark opened to the outside of the plane, sucking Yoshiko and the Stand out of the plane.

"SON OF A BIIIIIIIIIIIi-" Maria shut the opening before the sentence could be finished.

"... Really? Goodbye?" Maria groaned, glaring at Giorno now.

"You... you just..." Blue was in tears, staring at the spot where Yoshiko had been thrown from the plane.

"I would give you the same for that awful..." Maria held the marker towards her now but stopped as Blue collapsed to the floor with a wail.

"HOW COULD YOU?! SHE WAS JUST DOING WHAT SHE WAS TOLD! WHAT WE WERE BOTH TOLD! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!" Blue screeched, gripping fistfuls of hair at either sides of her head with a look of wide eyed disbelief and terror. "WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST KILL ME?! SHE WOULD'VE DONE ANYTHING YOU ASKED! YOU COULD'VE REASONED WITH HER!'

"I... don't think..." The three blinked back at the wailing mess of a girl in front of them.

"NO! YOU PEOPLE DON'T THINK! YOU DON'T THINK ABOUT ANYTHING YOU DO!" Blue screeched, gripping (Y/n) by the collar and bringing them face to face.

"... You're not thinking reasonably. She wasn't the person you thought she was. She intended to blow the plane up, and by extension, yourself and probably herself. You need to..." There was a loud crunch from outside. The whole plane went silent, as the crunch was followed by another. And another.

"There's no way." Maria's jaw hung, before running to the window. "Holy shit. She's still alive. And she stopped the wing."

"Wha- She's still hanging on?!" (Y/n) gasped, looking in disbelief herself.

"Narancia. Send out Aerosmith and see if you can pick her off." Maria ordered.

"No... No..." Blue released (Y/n)'s shirt, stumbling back into the cockpit's seat. "She said she was going to get us both off..."

"What. What's she going to do?" Giorno asked.

"She's going to bring the plane down. Or die trying. And she's... going to take us all with it..." Blue mumbled in shock.

"I told you. She wasn't the person you knew her for. Which is why you need to help us now. She's going to kill us all, regardless." (Y/n) insisted.

"I... But..." Blue was at a loss, staring at the plane's controls with a glaze in her eyes. "She said..."

"You know how to fly this plane, right? You could get us all safely." (Y/n) nodded, setting a hand on her shoulder.

"Wha- We're trusting an enemy now? I thought we were full up on crazy!" Maria groaned.

"I... Uh... But... We don't... We're not..." Blue mumbled, staring back at (Y/n) in surprise.

"It doesn't matter if we're not allies right now. What matters is we get off this plane alive, and get away from that steaming ball of crazy out there." (Y/n) said with a reassuring nod. "You can do this. I know you can. Whatever Nirvana promised you, you can finish this battle another day. But you need to be alive to do that."

"I... Okay." Blue mumbled hesitantly, setting hands back on the controls.

Iggy hopped from (Y/n)'s lap up to the dashboard, wagging his short tail excitedly as they started to make their rapid descent towards France below.


	19. Chapter 19

Crunch.

Yoshiko could barely see beyond the red haze in her eye. Her body was screaming, a sharp, wrenching pain from her head and well into her shoulder. The wound itself was pulsating and spitting blood every which way. A thick, spikelike pressure drove in to her exposed eye and skull. Def Leppard held her by the shirt with one hand, and held onto the wing with the other.

With a choking gasp, she gave a small flex of her left hand. Pain shot up the muscle of her arm, through what remained of the nerve endings and muscle of her shoulder and chest.

She was not dead.

She had to...

to...

It was hard to focus, through this pain.

It took effort, to will her eyes to look straight. She had... been thrown from the plane. By those... brats. She had... gone through the propeller. Def Leppard had saved her...

Yoshiko groaned, grasping Def Leppard's arm with her good arm.

She had to... they had to stop this plane.

Hissing through the pain, Yoshiko heaved herself up Def Leppard's arm, crawling onto it's back with some assistance. Wordlessly, Def Leppard smashed it's arm through the wing and down into the propeller mechanism, the capsules at it's wrist exploding and melting the delicate wiring within. The propeller came to a slow stop, sending the plane into an awkward sideways flight. Def Leppard reacted immediately, crawling it's way up the plane's wing with it's half-conscious user on it's back.

Her body was so... so heavy... the only sensation she could register was the pain of her injuries. One eye was a blood-red screen, and the other blurred, as she could feel her other eye struggling to retain focus through the floating diziness in her head... She just wanted to roll over... lay down...

No.

She wasn't going to die here.

She had... there was too much to do.

With a grunt Def Leppard heaved itself atop the plane. Just as it reached to smash a hole in the roof of the plane, another, smaller buzzing above them...

That plane from before...

Def Leppard acted before she did, pulling her in a crawl across the back of the plane, back towards the fuel tank. They were going to... crash it? Here and now...?

Def Leppard put it's fist through the thin metal, sending fuel spraying into the air. There was a sharp, burning pain up her left arm, the arm that had been skin bubbled, popping and boiling. But that didn't matter now...

If she lost an arm, so be it!

But she'd be damned if her cause of death would be 'thrown from a plane'. Like hell she'd die to a... a fucking plane propeller. Not before taking a few Kujo's and a Higashkata with her. There was a hard swerve beneath her, sending her and Def Leppard sliding down the plane and towards the front windshield with a single, long smear of blood.

* * *

The deafening siren reverberated through the whole plane.

"SHE'S GONE FOR THE FUEL TANK! WE'RE GOING TO CRASH!" Blue yelped, struggling to hold the plane in an upward position.

"THIS BITCH JUST DOESN'T KNOW WHEN TO STOP!" Maria yelled angrily. The back of the plane gave several more explosive thumps. And by the sound of repeated explosive pounding from atop the plane, she was still going.

"NARANCIA! CAN'T YOU DO ANYTHING TO GET HER OFF?!" Giorno yelled, using the seats for balance as the plane fell into a rapid descent.

"I CAN'T SEE HER WITH ALL THE SMOKE!" Narancia yelled, clinging to Fugo as he clung to the cabin's doorway.

"SHE'S NOT AFRAID TO BURN, GIORNO! WE NEED TO GET HER TO LET GO!" Maria yelled, tumbling from the door way down into Giorno and nearly knocking them both back into the flight console.

"CAN'T WE JUST CUT THE ENGINE AND TUMBLE?!" (Y/n) yelled, struggling to hold the pilot's stick in an upturn, even with Blue's help.

"WE'LL JUST KILL OURSELVES TOO!" Blue gulped, visably sweating at the effort.

"FUGO! YOU'RE THE STRONGEST OF US RIGHT NOW! YOU NEED TO OPEN A HOLE IN THE ROOF OF THE PLANE!" (y/n) yelled.

"WHAT?!" The whole plane gawked at her.

"JUST TRUST ME! MARIA! I NEED YOU TO DO EXACTLY AS I SAY!" (Y/n) grunted.

"EH?!" Maria yelped, (Y/n) and her eyes meeting.

"IF THIS WORKS... I NEED YOU TO STRIKE GIORNO DIRECTLY IN THE DIAPHRAM." (Y/n) ordered.

"WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?!" Maria yelled.

"JUST DO IT!" (Y/n) snapped, slamming Iron Maiden's fist into the landing gear's button.

"WHAT AM I DOING?!" Maria snapped, before being met with an upward punch from Iron Maiden.

"DO IT!" (Y/n) hissed as the water below came into view. Without another word, Maria jabbed her fist straight into Giorno's diaphram, knocking the wind out of him with an 'oof' and a sputter.

"NOW, FUGO!" (Y/n) yelled. Purple Haze battered at the cieling, meeting the dents and explosive bangs from above till the two had opened a hole to each other. Purple Haze wasted no time, jabbing it's fist straight into the stand's armored chest with a loud crack.

"GIORNO! CATCH!" (Y/n) yelled, tossing a pen their way. Maria and Gold Experience fumbled for the pen, and with a loud sound like a distorted bell, the pen turned into a dove. Giorno and Maria struggled to hold the dove as it struggled in their hands.

"YOU'RE NOT LEAVING THIS PLANE-" Yoshiko had pulled herself over the edge staring down at the group, her mangled, bloody face twisted into a seething, tearful sneer and her voice shaking. At that very moment, the dove wrenched itself loose...

And straight into her screaming mouth. Yoshiko sputtered, coughing and choking as the dove blindly wriggled and tried to dive further into her mouth and away from the chaos.

"IGGY!" (Y/n) screeched, holding the terrier protectively in front of them. With a loud yelp, the cabin was sealed with a sand barrier. There was a loud humming sound from outside, followed by a pained screech and a tumbling sound. Just minutes later, there was a hard crunching sound around the nose of the plane, before gravity pulled the plane back to level. (Y/n) gave a long sigh of relief, before collapsing onto the panel.

* * *

Jotaro sighed, leaning back in his chair staring at the empty Grant form on the white box of a computer on his desk. If he'd known when he'd gotten his PHD that there'd be this much red tape involved in this line of work. How much time and effort and legal precautions he had to take before he even touched a diving suit...

With a sigh, he glanced over to the phone at the side of his desk.

She was probably out on the road at this very moment. Probably in no position to be answering a phone call, even from him. The last he'd heard she'd arranged for a flight straight to Paris via Speedwagon's Rome branch. The lengths they'd go to for Joestar and Kujo...

Well. Suppose he had to add Giovanna to that list now.

She'd been gone almost 3 weeks now.

She'd gone to the lengths of meeting the kid in Tokyo, informing him of the inheritance he was obtaining and updating him of the recent events of which he was obtaining this inheritance. All things that could've been done in a single phone call. But... For all that Dio had put her through, she still felt responsibility for his bloodline. He had to wonder what their percieved relationship even was. Of what he knew, Giorno was very much independant of any paternal or familial ties, and had even recently made an unspecified career change. For all of that, however, he had been described as a kindhearted and soft spoken young man.

Call it paranoia, but Jotaro couldn't shake the feeling the whole thing was an act.

What Giorno did with his father's money was of no concern to him, of course. To his understanding, Giorno had little knowledge of his father beyond a bare physical description, let alone motive to take up his father's cause and continue the crusade on the Joestars.

It wasn't that he didn't trust (Y/n) to steer him right. But he held a concern that Giorno might get... inspired, by his father's acts. Or rather the power Dio held in life, and inspired beyond death, if recent events in Morioh had been any judge. Just how much of that power had passed into Giorno, he wondered.

"You're being paranoid. He lives a completely normal life in Italy. To my knowledge he's never even heard of a Stand arrow, or Stands. He's 15, Taro. He's probably more concerned about what marks he got on his last test than ruling the world or becoming the strongest Stand user alive."

Perhaps the source of his obession wasn't Giorno after all...

He missed (Y/n).

In the first week alone the house had already been quieter than for comfort. His ears longed for the sound of the coffee maker, the telltale clinking of metal spoon against countertop. The opening and closing of the fridge. The smell of coffee, of pancakes in the morning and eggs cracking, the steaming showers and perfume. The clacking of keys and the quiet 'hmm's and 'ahh's. The sight of a (h/l), (H/c) bun seated at the desk behind his, a cluttered mess as opposed to his neat stacks. The shine of (E/c) eyes, the only window to her thoughts and emotions, brightening and dulling at will. The feel of soft skin under his hands, varying from warm to cold depending on if she'd fed recently. The soft timbre of her voice, carrying the faintest hint of a British lilt to her vowels despite how long since she'd even seen the country.

If someone had told him 13 years ago he'd be married and have a daughter to the vampire bride of his family's greatest threat, he would have either laughed in their face or knocked their teeth out.

Maybe it would be more believable to throw in he'd been divorced for 9.

Still... For all that he complained about wanting to sit down and study sea life for the rest of his life...

He wouldn't change a thing.

To think, the only reason he'd even seen (Y/n) again was thanks to a Stand Arrow, a serial murderer, Josuke, and that (Y/n) had almost been Yoshikage's next 'girlfriend'.

Jotaro sighed, running his fingers over the wedding ring on his finger. After he'd chucked his first one to the Mariana Trench on a dive, Joseph had been insistent that he chose the next. He could still remember the poor jeweler's face as Joseph kept asking for nicer and nicer rings, and Jotaro's flushed insistence that he wanted it to be as simple as humanly possible till finally Jotaro had an outburst resulting in the two placing a compromise.

By far, the platinum band of sapphire and amethyst had outshone the diamond encrusted piece of shit his father had bought.

He'd never tell Holly, but... Never had he felt so good about wasting 4 million yen.

"Meru Ga Todoite Imasu."

It was like a bomb going off in the house.

Jotaro sprung from his seat, snatching the nearest soft object, his favored starfish couch pillow, and slamming it down over the computer's speaker. Star Platinum slammed the office door shut as the muffled dial up crackled and screeched to life from the computer and through the deathly silent house. Snatching the complimentary S-City Botanical Gardens throw from (y/n)'s chair, he threw that over the computer as well, muffling the horrendous crackles, static, and screeching from the computer. The sound bounced through the padding and throughout the room, like the gates of hell and screaming of the damned themselves trying to communicate through the clunky white box and wake his sleeping daughter upstairs.

As the final sputters of static and screeching from the computer came to a sudden and deathly stop, Jotaro froze, listening for the slightest telltale squeak or creak from the cieling.

...

...

...

...

A single creak.

"Star Platinum: The World!"

As time came to a sudden and vicious stop, Jotaro bolted from the office and out into the living area, wasting none of his precious 5 seconds. If he'd known her mother had enforced such a strict bedtime schedule...

Paying no mind to any furniture or items in his path, Jotaro skidded to a stop at the stairwell and scrambled his way up as Star Platinum held up three fingers and shoved him up the stairs with the other. He could feel the exhausting effects of the time stop starting to kick in. His heart beat a little harder. A single bead of sweat down his nose. Running was like trying to push through water, the air itself seemingly trying to hold him back. Jolyne's door came into view as he reached the top floor, the door decorated in butterflies and dolphins.

He'd already read Ariel's Underwater Adventures one too many times that night. As he slowed to a tired stumble towards the door, he was cursing his younger self's laziness and pride, and the Speedwagon Foundation's ungodly timing and disregard for sleep schedules. Two more seconds.

Pushing the door open, he crept into the bedroom with slower, more cautious movements. In a sort of irony, it was arguably more tenacious than entering Dio's mansion.

Since when did Ariel's Underwater Adventures and demands for warm milk hold more sway over him than the threat of his mother's health and the end of his bloodline?

Creeping closer to Jolyne's bed, he peered through the darkness down at his daughter. Closed eyes. Mouth open. Dolphin comforter tucked as he'd left it.

He'd dodged Ariel tonight.

With a sigh of relief, Jotaro used his remaining second to back out of the room and close the door.

His anxiety gave way to annoyance as he returned to the downstairs office, glaring at the white box as if it had personally sent the message.

Suppose it was too late to send in that grant request.

Taking a brief glance at the phone (And recoiling to see the time was 1 in the morning), Jotaro slumped back into the office chair and opened the Email.

_"Mr. Jotaro Kujo_

_We are sorry to interrupt your evening with some rather concerning information._

_In a transmission interception, our agents have discovered that Nirvana intends to send 3 Stand Users to Morioh to harass the Kujo and Higashkata families and further distress Mrs. Kujo. Our agents received no description of the users, nor of their abilities. Only that they are to arrive in Morioh in 3 days to a week, depending on circumstances._

_We wish you, Miss Jolyne, and Mr. Higashkata the utmost luck and support in this endeavor._

_Sincerely,_

_The Speedwagon Foundation_

_Martin Luther Ave._

_Los Angeles, CA. 90007_

_Suite 2700_

_678-999-8212_

Jotaro's frown deepened the further he read.

Stand Users coming to Morioh, with intent to harm him and distress (Y/n)? If Dio wasn't already dead, he'd say the vampire had risen from his ashes and inspired Nirvana. It was such a low, yet effective tactic.

Maybe he should've watched his mouth when he'd wished to settle down in Morioh and study starfish for the rest of his life.

Josuke was right next door. No doubt playing 'That's a Baseball' well into the night despite Tomoko's wrath. He wasn't so young and stupid as to spite his father's mistress, however. He'd pull Josuke over tomorrow morning, they could form a plan together.

His chair gave a labored groan as he leaned forward, opening a new email.

This one to Joseph Joestar.

The blinking black cursor against the white background sat, waiting for his input.

He blanked on what to even say.

Stand Users coming to Morioh?

The Pillar Men are back?

The Red Stone of Aja is in danger again?

Dio has a son?

(Y/n) is in danger?

The Zeppeli's are back?

...

Caesar is alive?

Just as quickly as he'd opened it, Jotaro closed the tab again.

He couldn't drag Joseph into this. He'd already been through too much after the Kira incident and everything with Dio. The old man deserved to live out his final years in peace in New York, blissfully unaware of the chaos unfolding a whole continent away.

He had everything he needed to defend Jolyne and his family. Right here in Morioh.

* * *

"... We have to eat Giorno." Maria said suddenly as the sun set on the seven seated on the wing. Thankfully the plane had been built to to float, despite the damages sustained.

"We've only been stranded for... half the day. We don't have to eat anyone... yet." (Y/n) huffed from underneath the pile of jackets over her head. The sun was setting, now, but (y/n) had lost her sunblock at some point to the accident and was currently very much exposed to the force of the light, even at sundown.

"Giorno has the most fat of us. He'll sustain us long enough till rescue." Maria groaned. "All who agree we should eat Giorno say aye."

"I vote we should eat Narancia." Blue muttered, pulling her hat lower over her head as she shifted into a more comfortable seating.

"Biologically we should eat you two." Fugo shot back.

"Eat her first. This is her fault, after all." Maria grunted, glaring at Blue. Blue just shifted, staring down at her lap.

"We should eat you. If you hadn't tossed Yoshiko from the plane none of this would've happened." Blue grumbled after a while.

"You're still defending crazy, huh?" Maria huffed, splashing sea water at Blue. Blue didn't rebuke the splashing, just shrinking more.

"She wasn't... crazy. She would've worked something out." Blue muttered.

"Both of you stop." (Y/n) huffed, her voice muffled. "This isn't anyone's fault except for the absentee."

"Do you think she's out there?" Blue muttered worriedly, glancing up and around as if Yoshiko's unconscious, or dead, body would suddenly appear.

"Who cares if she is. We're stuck on a crashed plane cause of her, and only two of us has any way of getting off." Maria sighed, leaning back on the plane wing with a sleepy groan.

"Why don't you go get help then? Can't you walk on water?" Narancia sighed, boredly picking at his shoelaces.

"Surface tension. The waves break it up and negate the Hamon." (Y/n) filled in. "And unless she feels brave enough to swim..."

"Swim the Tyrrhenian. That's an awesome idea." Maria scoffed sarcastically.

"It'd help with your breathing." (Y/n) shot back.

"Or why don't i just give the ol' Boss a call to come send us a rescue already?" Maria grumbled. "Oh yeah, let me just make a call on a phone that has no signal and a broken radio." Maria huffed angrily, standing from the group and holding their last flare to her ear like a phone."

"Moshi Moshi, Bossu?" Maria put on her squeakiest voice. "It's Doppio! We crashed in the middle of the fucking Tyrrhenian, boss!"

A flash of light caught Giorno's eye, far off in the horizon.

"There was some crazy bitch with a Stand that made explosions and tried to gas us, Boss!"

Another flash.

"We've been stranded out in the middle of the Tyrrhenian for most of the day and we're starving!"

There was something... .yellow, on the horizon.

"They're taking votes on who we should eat first, Boss!"

The yellow object was... growing. And coming near them.

"They're thinking about eating me!"

A yellow submarine.

"You've gotta save me, Boss! Please!"

A yellow submarine was coming their way.

"You've gotta send someone to come-"

"Hey."

"Rescue us, Boss!"

"Hey."

"Please come save me like you always do-"

"I think he heard you." Giorno mumbled, pointing at the yellow Submarine on the horizon. The rest of the group turned at him speaking. (Y/n)'s eyes went wide from underneath the jackets, staring back with big, (E/c) eyes as someone crawled out of the Submarine and stood atop it.

"... Bossu." Maria dropped the imitation, along with the flare.

"Ahoy!" The figure waved, pulling off the beanie to reveal themselves as Mista. Mista Guido had... somehow. Found a yellow submarine to come save them.


	20. Chapter 20

"So... going to explain where you got the submarine? And why a yellow submarine? No, how did you even know how to find us?" Maria mumbled, the seven crowded around the center table with a grinning Mista at the helm. (Y/n) recognized the submarine, one of the luxury ones, more modern than the one they'd taken to Egypt. Smaller, though. Various fish swam past the window as Mista piloted them to the nearest port.

Mista gave a shrug.

"What? What's this mean?!" Maria huffed, mocking his shrug.

"Don't know whose submarine it is." Mista said, shrugging again.

"Y-you stole a submarine?!" Fugo sputtered over his coffee, staring at Mista's back with wide eyes.

"I don't know if i stole it. All i got was a gps in an envelope leadin' me here and a shopping list." Mista said simply.

"A... gps. From who?!" Maria and Fugo leaned in, standing from their chairs and leaning over Mista's shoulder.

"I dunno. No name." Mista said. "It's alright! I rescued you guys, didn't i?"

(y/n) mulled over the words, holding her coffee close.

Speedwagon?

This Boss that they keep talking about?

...

...

Nirvana?

Why would Nirvana go to the trouble of trying to kill them and then send rescue? (Y/n) shook her head. It was impractical. The kind of pointless stunt Dio would pull. But... no one else knew they were out here. No one would know they'd needed help. Nirvana certainly hadn't hesitated in trying to kill them so far...

Unless...

(Y/n) glanced across the table, towards a silent Blue.

Blue had only helped them at the last minute... and only after her partner, and assumed superior in this strange hierarchy, had faced defeat. It certainly wouldn't be hard, to play docile. If she was even playing at all.

But a docile nature didn't make her less of a danger.

Suddenly she felt like she was back on her dates with Kira.

Blue had apparently felt eyes on her, as her head turned slowly to meet (Y/n)'s. There was no murderous look, nor any implication of Blue's thoughts or intentions in her eyes. Just quiet fear.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Blue opened her mouth, like she would speak, but refrained, turning back to watching the drama at the helm.

"You're thinking it too, huh?" Giorno mumbled at her side. "It's hard not to. She did join us a little too fast."

"But... in that scenario..." (Y/n) muttered, wringing her hands nervously under the table. "We were all afraid for our lives. And Yoshiko was very much ready to sacrifice her to kill us..."

"Hold onto that suspicion." Giorno said simply. (Y/n) glanced back at him, her expression changing to surprise.

"Until we reach Paris we aren't safe. She might attack us right here in this submarine. Or she might wait for us to reach land, and follow us to Paris." Giorno said, lowering his voice as Blue had turned her attention back on them. There was a strange expression, on (Y/n)'s face. Just for a moment, he could've sworn there was a look of... pride, on her face?

And just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone, replaced again by concern.

"Yes... You're right. Suppose i'm overthinking things." (Y/n) said awkwardly, crossing her arms and leaning back in the seat. The awkward silence was back.

"Hey, Mrs. Kujo. What was that thing you had Maria and Giorno do?" Narancia broke the silence, seating himself back at the table from the helm.

"Yeah. You've been avoiding it. What was that." Maria chimed in, hearing her own name and taking that as permission to butt in.

"Just a gamble that paid off. It's nothing." (Y/n) muttered awkwardly, as Giorno now perked in interest too.

"And what was that thing with the dove? Did you... kill her?" Blue mumbled, perking in interest as well.

"Honestly...? I doubt it. But when we're talking about this one..." (y/n) said, gesturing towards Giorno.

"Just be straightforward, old woman." Maria huffed, leaning to look (Y/n) in the eye as (Y/n) stared determined at her hands.

"... It doesn't matter. Really." (Y/n) grumbled. "It's not like we're going to have time to-"

"Time to do what. What'd you do?" Maria pressed. She wouldn't know it, but the resemblance really shone through when she was angry. There was a small hum in the silence as Hamon generated between her teeth as she gritted.

"It's nothing. It won't matter." (y/n) insisted, starting to stand.

"You're gonna use Iron Maiden to back outta the conversation." Maria huffed, waving a sharpie threateningly. "Just come out and say it, already."

"Muda muda. Muda muda muda muda." Iron Maiden nodded as (Y/n) slumped back into her seat with a troubled expression.

"She's got a point, there." Giorno shrugged.

"Never thought i'd see the day my Stand sided against me." (Y/n) huffed, giving an accusatory glare at iron Maiden.

"We really should know, Mrs. Kujo." Fugo agreed.

"... You want the long version or the short version?" (Y/n) groaned, already looking uncomfortable at the subject.

"Let's start with fist meets diaphram and work from there." Maria sighed, shifting on her feet.

"... Fine. While i'm fairly certain he doesn't have full control... with the... correct breathing corrections... I believed, at the time, Giorno was capable of Hamon." (Y/n) muttered. There was a long silence around the table as eyes turned to Giorno. Giorno's expression was one of vague interest, but otherwise, didn't seem very surprised.

"But i thought vampires couldn't do that sun kung-fu stuff." Narancia tilted his head curiously.

"That's what i thought, too... but considering it's only a portion... i suppose we have reason to believe it's weaker, but it does it's job." (Y/n) muttered.

"So... what. He needs my help to do it? Uncle Caesar's got a new student? What?" Maria huffed.

"I... honestly don't know, right now." (Y/n) mumbled.

"So we just pulled a stunt with Hamon, that saved our asses, and ultimately all we can confirm is Blondie is capable of Hamon." Maria huffed, shoving her hands in her pockets. "That was a real long way around to nothing."

"We've pretty much been guessing, this whole trip. For all we know this fuss about stand arrows and the Red Stone of Aja could be nothing. But it doesn't mean we shouldn't look into it." (Y/n) defended.

"Wouldn't that be a kicker." Maria muttered, looking in thought now.

"Hmm?" (Y/n) glanced up now. Maria ignored it, instead now leaning over Mista's shoulder.

"Think we've all had a pretty huge day, huh? Let's all go ahead and hit the sack." Maria said, turning Mista's attention away from the piloting towards her.

"Eh? So soon?" Mista said in surprise as Maria insistently pushed him along out of the seat.

"We've just been in a plane crash and been stranded for most of the day. I think it's justified we're tired." Maria grumbled, setting hands on the wheel.

"Why don't you all go ahead to bed. I'll pilot, since i have no need of sleep." (Y/n) suggested, standing from her seat.

"Are you sure...? You don't get hungry?" Narancia asked, quirking his head.

"Catch." Maria grunted, tossing a bottle from one of the salvaged bags towards (Y/n). (Y/n) caught it, giving a sniff of the contents before chugging the bottle back.

"What's that?" Narancia asked, trying to look at the bottle as several low growls rumbled from (Y/n)'s throat, barely audible over the loud drinking.

"Coconut water. It's been used for blood transfusion substitute for years." Fugo filled in after a moment.

"Trick as old as time." Maria grinned. "It's not a perfect solution... but no harm done, and no finger-suckin'."

"So if it came outta a coconut... does that make it vegetarianism?" Mista hummed in thought.

"Vegetarian vampire, huh... We could trademark that." Maria mumbled, nodding.

"You think if she drinks enough of that stuff and not, y'know, people blood, she'll taste like coconut?" Narancia asked. At that question, (Y/n) sputtered on the water, immediately pulling the bottle from her lips and trying to hide a red face.

"I think you just lost your 'vegetarian vampire'." Fugo muttered as (y/n) set the bottle down with a hard smack.

"Go on, shoo. I'll pilot it." (Y/n) huffed, guesturing towards the seperate, back of the submarine, where bunks had been built into the wall.

"You're gonna drive and watch our 'pilot' here?" Maria grumbled, guesteuring towards Blue. Blue took this as her cue, making an awkward shuffle until she was seated in the second seat at the helm.

"We'll be fine. Go on. Off to bed." (Y/n) said, taking the pilot's seat as Maria backed off, reaching into the pile of bags at the side and pulling out her sleeping clothes.

"Well. You heard the woman." Maria sighed, running a hand through her hair.

* * *

"Four bunks. Five people." Maria sighed, the five stepping into the small sleeping area. "Wanna draw sticks?"

"Only four...?" Mista blinked, before counting the bunks for himself.

"There an issue with that?" Maria glanced back as the rest of the group gravitated towards the bunks, away from Mista, who was looking more and more concerned.

"But... if there's four bunks. Then something bad's gonna happen in the fourth bunk... But two's half a' four. So somethin' might happen in the second bunk too... But then if two people bunk in bunk number four then it's doubly bad... but if two people stay in bunk number two then it's double the bad luck... But then the last person to take one is..." Mista's face grew paler as he mumbled to himself, counting off on his fingers.

"Uh... is he gonna be okay?" Maria whispered to the other three, looking more and more confused.

"Tetraphobia." Fugo whispered back, looking rather sympathetic now.

"He's scared of anything relating to the number 4. He insists 4 is bad luck, and picking anything out of 4 means something bad's going to happen." Giorno nodded.

"Wha... how does someone even come to that conclusion?!" Maria blinked back at the two, baffled.

"It's how he is." The two said, shrugging.

"...But then if i'm the fourth person to choose then that'll make whoever i'm with unlucky too..." Mista mumbled to himself.

"Hey. Hey." Maria huffed, waving her hand in his face and snapping Mista out of his daze. "Nothing terrible could possibly happen, alright? We literally just got away from one Stand user. The only other one is out there with (Y/n). So nothing unlucky could possibly happen, alright?"

"That's what they say! But four's a real bad number! It'll find a way!" Mista huffed. "Let's just not use the fourth one and sleep on the floor or something!"

"Are you honestly so afraid that you'd rather sleep on the floor?!" Maria huffed, bringing a finger up to poke Mista in the chest.

"And you should be too! We're at the bottom a' the sea! We'll die for sure!" Mista huffed, stomping his foot.

"Be reasonable. Just sleep with the first or third person, then." Maria grumbled.

"But then the fourth person's gonna have somethin' bad happen! What if it's Fugo?! Or Giorno?!" Mista grumbled.

"We can balance it out. We've got Iggy." Maria reasoned, as said Boston hobbled his way across their feet and straight onto the first lower bunk. "See? Iggy's the first. Now someone's gotta go next."

"But the fourth person-" Mista insisted.

"Will deal the consequences. We're all grown men and women here." Maria grumbled. "Now pick a damn bunk or pick someone to sleep with."

* * *

Mista was awakened by a soft prodding to his chest. Then harder.

"mmm?" Mista mumbled, opening one bleary eye. In his insistence in not letting anyone use the fourth bunk, him, Maria, and Giorno ended up shoved together into the bottom third bunk. At Maria's, Giorno was lumped between them.

"Wake up!" Maria was huffing, in a soft but breathy voice. Wha-

Mista lazily shifted up onto his elbow. At some point, Giorno had turned over, and had Maria in a death-lock with his legs around her waist. Maria couldn't move, nor turn away, and from the sounds of things was just as uncomfortable. After a moment, he could hear the problem.

A soft sucking and lip-smacking from Giorno.

"Wha..." Mista was baffled, unable to turn away or even imagine going back to sleep now.

"Get. Him. Off." Maria whined softly.

"Just... i don't know. Push him off." Mista whispered helplessly.

"I can't." Maria gulped, letting out a strange mix between a sigh and a groan.

"What d'you mean?" Mista blinked, before setting a hand on Giorno's shoulder and giving a soft tug. Giorno let out a low, guttural growl, like a dog unwilling to let go. His legs tightened around Maria, and his hands came up, digging into her waist. Maria let out a choked yelp of surprise, freezing in place.

"He's biting!" Maria whispered as Giorno, indeed, had dug his teeth in, softly chewing on the flesh of her shoulder. A trail of saliva and bruising marked his path down, from the side of her neck down to her shoulder. At some point Giorno had also kicked off the blankets, exposing the scene to the whole room. Narancia was face down in the pillow, with Iggy by his side. Fugo, in the top bunk, watched with confusion.

"You got a pillow? Or... something? Something he can... Whatever this is, to." Mista whispered up at Fugo. Fugo nodded, reaching across the gap of the beds and pulling the pillow from the other top bunk down, swinging it into Mista's hands. The fabric was coarse, but it would do.

Now how to get him to let go.

Maria hid her face in their pillow, letting out soft pants between groans of embarrassment. Giorno didn't seem to wake to any of it, just mindlessly chewing and sucking on the skin of her neck. Occasionally he'd give little guttural growls when she tried to push him off, futility. He was locked on, by the mouth and his legs wrapped around her waist. It was... kinda hot to watch.

Mista inwardly slapped himself at the thought. This was no laughing matter, nor some kinda free show.

"Just wake him up." Fugo said from the top bunk, watching the whole thing.

"No! It'll be... weird. He might get uncomfortable around us." Maria huffed into the pillow.

"B-besides! We've all had a long day!" Mista added, gulping and trying to fit the pillow around Giorno's lips. Giorno wasn't taking the bait, latched onto his preference tightly.

"Ewww... he's licking..." Maria whined, her hands tight fisted on the pillow.

There was a long silence between the three as they tried to think about how to best deter Giorno towards a less provocative substitute. The silence only filled by sounds of rhythmic sucking and quiet, embarrassed groans.

"Try holding his nose." Fugo suggested suddenly.

"Like... just pinch it?" Mista mumbled awkwardly.

"Just till he has to let go." Fugo nodded. Mista gulped, reaching over Giorno's shoulder and pinching his nose shut. Giorno didn't seem to wake or acknowledge it, just continuing to mindlessly chew.

"... Hey... I don't think-" Mista gulped, before turning his attention back to Giorno. He'd stopped, turning over onto his back and breathing through his mouth now. Letting go of his nose, Mista carefully held the pillow to Giorno's mouth. Rather than go for the pillow, Giorno turned over, sniffing along Mista's arm in an animal fashion. Maria was all to happy to duck out as soon as she got the chance, stumbling out of bed and holding her heavily bruised neck. The bruising perfectly fit the length of Giorno's mouth, and further down, two particular teeth stood out. Mista didn't have long to pay attention, anyhow. Giorno was sniffing along his arm, shifting closer and closer till they were practically chest to chest. Just as before, Giorno's legs came up and around Mista in a death grip, holding him by the waist and sniffing up, up, until he was right beneath Mista's ear, where his neck met his skull. Too stunned to move or push him off, Mista could only blink at the other two in shock as Giorno latched down, right on his pulse.

"Let's just leave him with the pillow..." Maria gulped, holding the abandoned pillow with wide, dilated eyes, still breathing heavily from her experience.

"I... don't think i could get up if i wanted to..." Mista mumbled. It felt... good. Kinda. In a... wet way. Giorno tested the flesh between his teeth, working it and biting as if he, indeed, intended to draw blood. The sensation was... strange, to say the least. It sent all sorts of nerves firing up and down his spine, shivers up and blood rushing down. A tingle to his skin and his head feeling full of air. Within a minute or two he was swallowing and trying not to pant. He could barely keep contact with Maria or Fugo throughout it, his face red and hot.

"I... I... I-i guess if he... ah... needs something to... umm..." Mista mumbled, barely able to think.

Fugo just watched with curious eyes, while Maria's were wide and flustered.

"W-w-we should... g-g-get... (Y/n)..." Mista mumbled, being pushed back into the bed as Giorno started chewing his way down his neck.

"Y-you crazy? She's piloting the damn sub! We can't drag her back here to... what. Tell Giorno to quit it?" Maria stuttered, still trying to keep up her act while now holding the pillow out defensively.

"So what're we supposed to do?" Mista mumbled blankly, staring up at the bottom bunk as Giorno did as he pleased.

"Get him off you, take the fourth bunk, and let him go to town on the pillow." Maria muttered.

"But the fourth-" Mista stuttered, sitting up much to Giorno's chagrin.

"The fourth bunk is better than whatever this is." Maria huffed, pointing at Giorno.

"I... Uh..." Mista gulped, glancing down at Giorno. Through this whole thing, Giorno was fast asleep, the cutest, most peaceful expression he'd seen yet on him despite their current predicament. Inwardly, he knew it would be better if he did just take the top bunk and leave Giorno to his devices down here. For all of their sakes.

"... Fine. Toss it here." Mista muttered, motioning for the pillow. Maria set the pillow carefully by Giorno's lips. Before he could latch down on her fingers next, Maria gently shoved the pillow in his mouth, allowing Mista's escape. Awkwardly climbing atop the fourth bunk, the two victims to Giorno's nighttime nibbling shared the bunk with awkward space between the two.

"Sorry. We had no idea he-" Fugo started quietly, looking equally embarassed.

"It's okay. It's strange. He didn't do this back at the hotel..." Maria muttered.

"Think we should tell him...?" Mista sighed, laying on his back with his hands behind his head.

"It'll just make things weird... from now on just don't room with him. 'Less one of us is into that sort of shit." Maria sighed, giving a pointed glare Mista's way.

"H-heh! S-says you!" Mista forced a laugh, turning over till they were back to back. "I-i'm a lady's sort of guy. And anyhow. I'm a Sagittarius. Aries and Sagg never work out."

"Suuuuure. FYI, so am i. And according to my daily horoscope, Sag and Sag are terrible for each other. Got anything else your daily horoscope spat out?" Maria scoffed.

"Go back to sleep, you two. We never speak of this again." Fugo sighed, turning over himself. The three fell into an unsteady silence, unable to go back to sleep.

* * *

Blue hadn't said a word to (Y/n) in the past 20 minutes the two of them had been alone.

(Y/n) couldn't much help being suspicious of Blue's passive nature, nor how quiet she'd been since the crash. The trauma of the crash wasn't lost on her, nor the fact that Blue virtually needed the seven of them just to get back to land, but...

Would Nirvana truly risk one of her own, simply to see her stopped?

Even if Nirvana had anticipated her agents to survive, why make such a scene as a plane wreck?

Had she also sent Mista with the submarine?

Had she known they'd survived?

Was Mista meant to rescue her agents?

Did she know about Polnareff? Had she planted an attack for him as well?

(y/n) was so deep in thought, She'd let go of the sub's wheel, allowing Iron Maiden to pilot for her.

"...Mrs. Kujo?" Blue mumbled, finally meeting her eyes and flinching at the blatant suspicion there. She'd jumped, at the sudden conversation, but acknowledged her with a nod.

"... Thank you. For bringing me along, i mean." Blue gulped, speaking so fast that (y/n) almost missed what she said.

"I... Uh... Y-y-you're welcome." (Y/n) mumbled awkwardly, shifting in her seat.

"I understand if you're suspicious, ma'am! But i'll tell you whatever you want to know! Just please don't hurt me!" Blue gulped, bowing her head awkwardly.

"..."

Hurt her? She thought they planned to hurt her?

"I swear i don't know much! I-i didn't even know who you guys were! I've never seen Nirvana in my life! Please, she's taken care of me and Styx since we were kids! That's all i know, i swear!" Blue gulped, refusing to look up at her. "I-I don't even know where Nirvana came from! I know she's real close with her bodyguard. What's-his-name. And i know she knows a lot about Stands and Stand Arrows and stuff like that..."

"One step at a time... You thought we were going to hurt you?" (Y/n) mumbled, blinking back at her.

"I... uh..." Blue mumbled, finally looking up to meet her eyes. With a sigh, You reached out, setting a hand on Blue's head.

"If you have no ill intentions towards us, we have none towards you, dear." She said simply, mustering the friendliest smile she could. Blue blinked back at her, before nodding, slowly.

"I... Um..." Blue mumbled, wringing her fingers. "I don't know much... Nirvana doesn't much talk to anyone. We only really know what we need to know... But... Well. I don't know if you need to know about-"

"Anything you feel safe about sharing could help." (Y/n) prompted, turning in the seat to look at her fully. Blue gave a hard, obvious swallow and wet her lips. Her face was twisted into a pained grimace, as if thinking of what was safest to share.

"...Anything i say is between us... right?" Blue spoke, lower.

"Absolutely." (y/n) nodded.

Another hard swallow, followed by her hands fluttering to her lips, as if to cover her words.

"...You didn't hear this from me. But... I-I've only seen Nirvana use her power once." Blue gulped, wringing her hands. "Y-Yoshiko deserved it, of course... but... I-it was all so fast..."

"What happened?" She prompted gently, setting a hand on Blue's shoulder. Before Blue could speak, there was a loud creak from the back of the Submarine, followed by a slow crunching.

"... Is that a normal sound...?" Blue gulped, standing nervously.

"No." (y/n) muttered, Iron Maiden already at her side.

"Ohhhhhh first a plane crash and now the submarine's going to sink! Please God, i'll never do anything bad again! Just let me liiiiiiiive!" Blue wailed, her fists gripping her hair at either sides of her head.

"We don't know it's going to sink, calm down." (Y/n) sighed, setting a hand on Blue's shoulder. Blue was barely listening, muttering for forgiveness and how she'd dedicate her life to good deeds if God let her live this once.

"Hey. Hey!" She huffed, turning a tearful Blue to face her. Tears of terror were already in her eyes, but she'd ceased her panic-driven mumbling.

"We're not going to die, okay? Not if i can help it. Now. We're going to go back there, and i'm going to need your help if things go bad, okay? If it somehow gets past me, i need you to wake the others and get them out of here. Where you go from there is up to you, but don't bother trying to come back and get me. Just focus on getting this bunch to Paris, okay? All of this, everything we've done so far, doesn't mean shit if our journey ends here. Nirvana takes over the world, an all out Stand War occurs, and you, Styx, my family, yours, everyone is a victim. So if you really want to make amends, help me now."

Blue just stared back with wide eyes, the terror in her eyes being replaced by surprise, even a bit of awe.

"I know you're probably scared. And with Nirvana, you should be. But right now i need you to get a grip, push it down, and help them survive this. We need to get Giorno to Paris. He'll know what to do from there." (Y/n) said, gentler. Blue stared back at her, her face slowly brightening. She couldn't quite name why, or how, but... she believed it. The idea that (y/n) could actually get them out of this alive...

Sure, she was a vampire. A monster that lived off the life force of others. If Nirvana was to be believed, could control anyone from the lowest bum to the highest politician with merely her voice...

But right now...

If she were doing such a thing, Blue didn't mind. Something told her she would keep her word in this.

Just as she started to think such a thing, she was reminded that Yoshiko made much of the same promise.

As if sensing her hesitation, she backed off respectfully.

"I don't need you to trust me now. Nor feel anything for me. I just need your cooperation." (Y/n) said, stiffer.

"Alright." Blue mumbled awkwardly, wringing her hands. "... Suppose i don't have much say in the matter."

"Come on." (Y/n) said, opening a floor hatch down into a tiny diving and mantinence area. Just as they'd opened the hatch, the coffee maker began beeping wildly, the numbers flicking randomly.

"Oh." Blue blinked at the coffee maker, staring between the hatch and the tiny appliance.

"Careful. It's probably what stopped the engine." (Y/n) said sternly, walking up to the coffee maker cautiously. Just as she had reached to turn it off, the microwave at its side started beeping wildly as well, followed by the depth module spinning wildly.

"If all it's got is a few spooks..." Blue muttered, before jumping as the ship suddenly lurched forward, faster. "Oh..."

(Y/n) dashed towards the console, trying to pull the submarine up futily as they crashed straight into the seafloor with a heavy thump. There was a loud crunch as the front of the ship crushed like a can, cracking the viewing windows and pouring in water at a dangerously fast rate.

"Hey, Low Rider. Watch the driving..." Maria muttered sleepily, stepping out of the sleeping quarters followed by various other groans.

"We have to abandon ship." (Y/n) said suddenly, paying the group no mind as she pulled out a bunch of wet suits.

"Abandon?!" The group blinked at her with wide eyes as she shoved wet suits into their arms.

"A stand has crashed the submarine and we have to swim for the surface. Now. Has anyone dived before?" (Y/n) said firmly, opening the hatch and pushing the group to climb down.

"The sub crashed?!" Narancia yelped.

"You have to calm down, Narancia. You must never panic. That's the most important rule in diving. Now. When we're travelling underwater, especially in depths like the Mediterranean, we have to ascend slowly. For the corresponding meters below the surface, the pressure increases. The surface starts at 1 meter. And since we're at nearly 60.. we'll endure 6 atmospheres of pressure. If we surface too quickly, the pressure will cause our lungs and blood vessels to burst. We have to rise slowly so out bodies can adjust. Since we're nearing the French coast, it's best if we follow the sea floor." (Y/n) said, turning the water valve. "You all had best go first. I will stay and ensure that this thing can't get out."

"Wait, you're staying?!" Giorno immediately seized her by the arm.

"Someone has to. I have to get to the bottom of this thing, and someone needs to keep it busy while you all escape." (Y/n) said stiffly.

"That... makes no sense whatsoever!" Maria huffed.

"This is a regulator. Air will come in at the bottom, and whatever you breathe out will come out the sides, here." (Y/n) held up Fugo's regulator, pointing to where the oxygen tube met the regulator, and the exhale valves. "You won't be able to talk underwater. Just use the hand signals. This is okay, this is not okay, and this is 'need air'."

"I thought that meant 'up yours'." Mista mumbled, holding the thumbs up 'need air' signal.

"Yeah that's what i thought too..." Blue quirked her head, mimicking the signal.

"This is no time to be fooling around! Put on your masts and regulators while you still have time!" (Y/n) huffed, climbing back up the ladder as the water was up to their necks now. "I'll join you all later. If not... Go to Paris without me. Polnareff will know what to do next."

"Are you crazy?! You're just gonna send us off on our own-" Maria started to snap, as (Y/n) slammed the hatch shut after her.

"She's right. We have to focus on getting out of here. She'll... find a way out. I know she can." Giorno had his regulator on, and was trying to turn the opening hatch with Gold Experience's help. His face, however, said otherwise. His brows had furrowed into a pained grimace, and overall looked uncomfortable with the idea of leaving (Y/n) behind.

"Will she really be okay...?" Narancia gave a hard gulp.

"Doesn't matter now. We've gotta save ourselves right now." Fugo insisted, pushing his and Narancia's regulators in their mouths as the room finally filled with water. Purple Haze took the other side of the hatch, helping turn the hatch open.

_'okay_' Giorno signaled as the hatch opened with no problems.

_'okay'_

_'okay'_

_'okay'_

_'okay'_

_'Wait. Where's Iggy?'_ Maria's voice came through Brick In The Wall.

Iggy was, indeed, missing.

_'You were holding him, Narancia!'_ Fugo snapped through Purple Haze.

_'I don't know! I lost him in all the panic!'_ Narancia gasped, turning back up to look at the closed hatch.

_'Keep calm, everyone. You'll lose oxygen with all that screaming.'_ Giorno shook his head, motioning towards the open bottom hatch.

_'But... (Y/n)... And Iggy...'_ Mista insisted, pointing towards the hatch.

_'There's nothing we can do about it now.'_ Giorno said, before letting out a choke. And then another. There was a long stream of bubbles from his mouth as he tore the regulator off. His oxygen counter was spinning wildly, and the regulator gave a strange, breathing sort of rhythm.

_'It's got his mask! It-_' Blue gasped, Gemini leaping to his rescue and seizing the regulator by it's tube before it could force itself back on Giorno's face. Giorno was blue in the face, clinging to the last bit of oxygen he'd siezed before the Stand had moved to his mask.

_'What're we gonna do?! He needs air too!'_ Narancia gulped. Fugo had grabbed his own regulator, loosening it to offer it to Giorno.

_'I've got an idea!_' Maria gasped, clapping her hands in the water. '_If the old man can do it as a total rookie, then so can i!'_

Pulling her hands apart, she'd formed a Hamon bubble of air, shooting it over Giorno's head and allowing him to take a gasp of air.

_'Good thinkin', Maria!'_ Narancia clapped as Giorno gasped in several breaths of air.

_'Now don't go breathin' it all in at once.'_ Maria sighed, patting his back as she saw him gasping for breath.

_'C'mon! Hurry! Before that thing comes at us again!'_ Fugo urged, pushing Narancia along out of the tube.

Gemini had torn the regulator off the tube, and, merging into a copy of Def Leppard, smashed it with a small explosion.

_'What even is this thing, d'you think?'_ Narancia gulped, pushing out of the hatch and helping Blue out next.

_'Don't know, don't care! We know it's trying to kill us and that's all we need!_' Maria huffed, pushing out the hatch and out into the sea bed. They'd crashed into the sea floor, and while the outside was relatively undamaged, the forward had taken a hard break through the crash, creating a massive hole which sea water was flushing in.

_'We should go back for her! We can't just leave-_' Narancia started to swim towards the hole in the ship, before being yanked back by Fugo by the tank.

_'There's nothing we can do now. She gave her life to save us. the best we can do now is continue in her stead.'_ Fugo said sternly, starting to drag Narancia along by one hand. The water was thick, heavy. As if it was trying to stop them itself.

_'But this is stupid! We can still save her!'_ Narancia huffed, trying to swim back.

_'Cut it out, Narancia._' Giorno muttered, quietly. The group swam in silence, using the rocks as guidance towards the shore.

_'What a pain... All that show just to crash the sub?_' Maria groaned. Just as she spoke, there was a sound like bubbles from above them. Something swam above them, like a shark, but a body where the head should've been.

_'Ew... You'd think there wouldn't be litter all the way down here...'_ Narancia groaned, flicking a beer can out of his way.

_'There's litter everywhere, Narancia._' Fugo sighed.

_'Gyaaahhhh!'_ Maria yelped from the back of the group. Her, Giorno, and Mista had been trapped together by an old plastic six pack, wrapped firmly and impossibly around their ankles. The figure above them took the opportunity, lurching down and siezing Mista and Giorno by the necks. Some kind of mermaid, with a tiger shark for a body and sharp teeth lining her mouth, ready to rip and tear.

_'GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF!'_ Mista yelled, struggling as the Stand tightened it's grip on their throats. Purple Haze jumped in, punching at it's back. The Stand barely noticed, focused on the two with a blank stare and exposed teeth. Flicking Purple Haze away with it's tail, it snatched Maria's and Mista's regulator's in it's hands. Rather than crushing the regulators, or tearing them off their faces, instead it sealed it's mouth around each, breathing some sort of green gas into them. Both ceased their struggling, falling limp in it's hands. Just as it had turned, seizing Purple Haze by the throat, something else had crawled up, behind it's back, stabbing it's fingers into the stand's back. The stand stopped, releasing Purple Haze's throat and it's teeth receding into it's mouth, making it's face somewhat more human-looking.

It was the little watery stand from before.

No...

Wait.

_'Get us out of here, Gemini!'_ Blue had gulped, pulling a knife and cutting the plastic six pack off their feet and dragging an unconcious Maria and Mista up towards safety. The stand, at Gemini's urging, gripped Mista and Maria by the collars and started it's fast ascent.

* * *

"Breathe dammit! Breathe!" Blue gasped, pushing hard on Mista's ribs with Gemini's help. They'd managed to surface to a rocky beach. But they'd made it.

They'd arrived in France.

"How many fingers am i holding up?" Giorno sat in front of a drowsy Maria, holding up four fingers.

"... Three?" Maria muttered, squinting.

"Close enough." Giorno sighed, pulling her to her feet. Narancia and Fugo had ended up further down the beach, coughing and wheezing on their backs.

"(Y/n)..." Giorno sat up, turning and staring back at the water. "Where..."

"Giorno... There's a slim chance..." Maria started, reaching to set a hand on his shoulder.

"No... No she was going to be right behind us." Giorno huffed, stumbling to his feet and starting to make his way back to the water.

"Giorno, would you come to your senses for a minute?! There's no way she got out of that!" Maria huffed, lashing out and gripping him by the pants, digging her heels into the sand.

"She wouldn't just... She wouldn't just drag us all this way..." Giorno insisted, harshly slapping her hand off. Maria yelped, falling back into the sand and staring at Giorno with wide eyes. She hadn't noticed it... but... small tears had appeared in his eyes. Tiny drops of water welling up just in the corners of his green eyes.

"We can... I can still go back..." Giorno snatched one of the abandoned respirators, roughly attaching it and stomping back towards the water.

"Giorno, would you stop?!" Maria snapped, siezing the respirator out of his hands and holding it away. "there's nothing you can do, okay?! Stop trying to be a damn hero all the time! She's gone, alright?!"

"Not while i can still-" Giorno huffed, giving a subdued sniffle and wiping his eyes. Much as he tried, however, his shoulders still slumped. His voice still cracked. His jaw still trembled, threatening tears.

"Wouldja stop the tough guy act for a minute." Maria sighed, pushing the air tank straps off his shoulders. Like a weight, he slumped over, right onto her shoulder. "Hey, hey, it's alright..." She mumbled, setting an awkward hand on his shoulder.

There was a sniffle.

Then two.

After a heavy breath, it finally clicked.

He was crying. Giorno Giovanna was crying.

"Hey now... Easy..." Maria mumbled senselessly, rubbing his back as he quietly sniffled and cried into her shoulder. He didn't speak, nor respond. Just wet, hot tears into her cold shoulder. At some point he'd lost his trademark curls on his head, further hiding his face in blonde bangs. "We all knew what we were in for. She knew what she was in for..."

Giorno didn't respond, just wrapping his arms around her and further supporting himself as the events of the day, and the days prior, caught up with him.

"I'm sorry... I... know she meant a lot, to you..." Maria mumbled, for once uncertain of what to say. What did you say, to someone who'd just lost a parent figure? Sympathy had never been her strong suit, but... If she'd lost someone, the last thing she'd want is pity.

So they stood there, letting him flood his emotions out on her shoulder.


	21. Chapter 21

Saint-Tropez, France

"So where are we gonna stay?" Narancia muttered, picking at a fish sandwich in his lap as the six sat along one of the piers, not minding the strange looks from the fishermen going about their day.

"More importantly, how are we gonna get out of here? Don't know about you, but i'm not much trusting anything from Speedwagon right now." Maria grumbled, taking a bite out of a hot dog.

"We could walk it." Fugo mumbled, not minding his food at all and staring blankly out at the sea. There was a unanimous groan from the group at the idea. There was a heavy air about the six, an elephant on the pier that no one wanted to touch. And yet, it remained unsaid.

"Okay. We need to talk about this." Maria huffed, finally deciding to break the heavy bubble.

"'bout what." Narancia mumbled, lacking his usual energy and interest.

"This." Maria huffed, waving at the air over them. "I know, (Y/n) is..." The word choked in her throat, threatening to spill her own tears. "...Dead. But we came to France for a reason." Maria pressed through, ignoring the hot angry tears and the red flush to her face. "She gave up her life so that we could stop Nirvana. It's our responsibility to press on for her. We... We didn't come all this way to..." The speech died in her throat, seeing their faces only sink further. The air only grew heavier on their shoulders as Maria slumped back onto the dock, quietly seating herself again. Three hours after the sinking, and their slow trudge up the French coast up to Saint-Tropez, (Y/n) and Iggy's death was finally starting to kick in for everyone. She kept hoping, maybe... (Y/n) would just wash up somewhere, or trudge into town the way they had. Or she'd just magically appear, tell them everything was alright. That she'd magically found a way out, that the stand wasn't so bad and that it had been an easy rescue, with Iggy in her arms and a cheerful smile for everyone.

But...

That wasn't how death worked.

For being a professional in the death business, and an assassin, she'd figured she'd be more professional than that... but...

She'd never been good at abandoning her hopes and morals to get the job done. And when emotions got in the way, she had Risotto to vent to. But...

Anyone within the vicinity to vent to was already feeling what she was feeling.

"... Let's find a phone. Contact Speedwagon. Figure out if there's something they can do for us." Giorno muttered, finally breaking the silence and standing up. His eyes were red, puffy at the edges. But despite it all, he kept a serious, straight face.

"You still want to contact Speedwagon? After that dumpster fire of a plane ride?" Maria sighed, standing as well.

"It might have been a dumpster fire, but six teenagers don't have much of a chance otherwise, do we." Giorno muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Five." Blue corrected, standing.

"Five?" Maria blinked back at her before doing a headcount. "You're... not coming with?"

"Honestly, i don't think i should..." Blue sighed, standing straighter. "It was a good experience, you bunch. But..."

"Hey, it's not like we have to be opposite teams." Narancia said, perking for the first time in the entire 3 hours. "You could help us out. It's not like Nirvana owns you or nothin'."

"Thanks..." Blue smiled, weakly. "...But i think i've had enough excitement. I'm going home. You guys... You guys have shown me a lot, in just a couple of hours we've known each other. You guys... you're not afraid of the world, or what's in it. You're not afraid to go out and do what you have to. And it's not just about you guys' survival either. It's... nice, knowing someone's fighting for the little people like me."

"So where are you gonna go? If you're not working for Nirvana anymore?" Narancia asked, quirking his head.

"Mm... Anywhere. Nowhere. Maybe i'll pen all this down, sometime. So keep me updated, alright? I want a full record." Blue grinned weakly, shoving her hands in her pockets. "And i'd rather write about an adventure across Europe, than a biography about the First Stand War."

"You think anyone's actually going to read it?" Fugo hummed, standing a bit straighter.

"Depends how this all plays out, doesn't it?" Blue smiled, Gemini appearing on each of her shoulders. Their little gremlin faces had softened a bit on the eyes, their big ears flapping in the wind and their large eyes squinted happily. "They do say disaster makes for good reading though... oh what the hell. Make a few headlines for me, help back up my story, would you?" Blue grinned, patting Gemini on their heads and holding the other out for a shake. Narancia was the first to take it, skipping the handshake entirely for a hug and nearly throwing them both into the water. Gemini held Blue up, hugging Narancia by the legs with soft 'piri's. Narancia tightened the hug as Fugo settled for a shake, the two shaking hands over Narancia's head.

"Just... don't mention the tuna thing, alright?" Maria said awkwardly, stepping in for a handshake. "I've got a reputation to keep."

"Will do." Blue chuckled, then brightened as Giorno stepped up next.

"You're really gonna put all this on paper?" Giorno mumbled, his expression softening a bit.

" Of course! You expect me to be in a plane crash and a submarine crash in two days and not talk about it?!" Blue gasped. That cracked a smile out of Giorno, as he took her hand next.

"I guess... Well. If you're really itching for a story..." Giorno mumbled in thought, before pulling out his wallet and pulling out a small business card. "When you get back to Naples, find a guy named Bruno Buccellati. I think he's got more than a few, for you. Maybe drop by in a year or so. Good publicity's hard to come by." Blue took the card with wide eyes, turning it over in her hands.

"... This number yours?" Blue mumbled shyly.

"Er... No. I... don't think you'll be contacting me much over this-" Giorno started, before being pulled into a big kiss on the cheek. Giorno let out a quiet squeak of surprise, a red flush coming up his cheeks as Blue was yanked back by the collar by a quite flustered Maria.

"Hey! Goodbye is not permission to get all your fondlin' out!" Maria grumbled, swiping Blue's way as Blue just ducked with a goofy grin on her face.

"What?! I might never see you guys again." Blue shrugged, sighing wistfully.

"Boundaries, girl!" Maria huffed, crossing her arms. "Besides. Don't get the merch distracted."

"Merch?" Giorno echoed.

"Well yeah... If this gets big, you're our big leader. And the fangirls are gonna be pissed if they knew this one got dibs." Maria grumbled, hiding her red cheeks in her hair and jabbing a thumb towards Blue.

"What. Nothin' for me? I saved your life too, you know." Mista whined, holding his arms out for a hug. Blue just settled for a handshake from him. Rather than a hug, Mista pulled her in closer, his face growing extremely serious as he muttered something into her ear, her grin dropping into a wide doe-eyed look.

"... You'd really do that...?" Blue gulped, her cheeks growing red.

"Damn right i will if you pull that shit again." Mista growled.

"... That's so hot..." Blue sighed happily, the grin back on her face as she was practically undressing him with her eyes now.

"What?" Mista blinked back, his own blush appearing.

"What?" Blue echoed wistfully, shrugging.

"... Ahem." Maria cleared her throat, apparently snapping Blue out of her sudden attraction.

"Heh heh! I'll hit you guys up back in Naples! If you see Styx, send her home, okay?!" Blue waved as she ran down the pier, Gemini skipping along behind her. "Get lots of pictures! And don't leave anything out when you tell me!"

"Bye!" Narancia waved back, practically bouncing on his feet.

"Oh get over it." Maria muttered, slapping a battered Speedwagon hat on Giorno's head and over his eyes.

* * *

"So we can do one of three things." Maria muttered off, flicking through various brochures. "There's a plane from Nice to Paris. It's the fastest at an hour and twenty five minute trip, but it's a plane. We can drive or get a bus, but that's another eight hours. There's a train that runs for about eight hours."

"And for the really desperate, we can talk. That's about a week's walk and frankly, i'm not that desperate or paranoid." Maria sighed, slapping the brochures down on the bus bench. "Well, leader?"

Giorno just shrugged, looking distant as he stared at the street in front of them.

"Hey. Leader." Maria grumbled, reaching across the bench to tug on Giorno's braid. "Earth. To-"

Giorno didn't respond, just pulling his braid away and continuing to stare.

"I don't think he's thinking about planning." Fugo said after a long silence.

"Right..." Maria muttered, rubbing her neck awkwardly as her lip pouted in thought. "I know... she was important to you, Giorno-"

"Don't want to talk about it." Giorno muttered, wringing his hands in his lap.

"... Alright then..." Maria muttered, looking more frustrated. "... Well if you don't want to talk about that... we need to figure out-"

"I can hear." Giorno muttered, his lip tightening as he still refused to look at them. "Do what you think is best."

"Well that's great and all but we kinda need your input here-" Maria huffed.

"Do what you want." Giorno repeated.

"I don't think he wants to lead right now." Mista said from the opposite end of the bench, watching Giorno with a thoughtful expression.

"Wether he wants to or not, we're kinda in a race against time right now." Maria grumbled, sending a pointed glare Giorno's way. Giorno barely acknowledged it, just staring blankly at the street in front of them with lidded, blank eyes. "We've just wasted how much time being stuck in the middle of-"

"He's just lost someone close to him, alright?! Think about how he's feeling for a minute! Haven't you ever lost someone?!" Narancia snapped, turning his glare full force at Maria.

"I..." Maria blinked back, mouth agape.

"Would it kill you to give him a minute?! If you're so eager to get this done and over with why don't you just go yourself?!"

"Narancia!" Fugo snapped, pulling Narancia back onto the bench with a sharp tug by the collar.

"... No. He's right." Maria muttered, staring at her own hands. "... I have been an ass. This whole trip i've been nothing but nagging and griping. I'm..."

"It's alright. It's... not your fault." Giorno muttered, reaching over and thumbing through the brochures. "You're right. This isn't the time to mourn. We have an objective. The best we can do for (Y/n) now is press on, and stop Nirvana for her."

"No, they're right. I'm the asshole. If you do need a minute, or twelve..." Maria insisted, frowning.

"I'll have time when this is over." Giorno stood. "We've reached France now. There could very well be Stand Users around every corner now. And that goes for everyone. We can... do something for (Y/n) after all of this. But right now we need to focus on getting to Paris and finding Polnareff on our own."

"Didn't she tell you all anything? At least how to find this Polnareff guy?" Mista glanced between the group, seeing the mixture of loss and confusion on their faces.

"No. It's up to us to find him." Giorno shook his head, standing in front of the bench to face them all. "Speedwagon will probably know."

"If you really still trust them..." Maria groaned, standing from the bench and pocketing the brochures.

"We're certainly not getting far without them." Giorno sighed, looking reluctant as well.

"Well. Considering most of our shit went down with the submarine, i'd say we resupply first. Maybe grab a coffee?" Maria shrugged.

"Coffee sounds good!" Narancia chirped.

"You just had a tuna sandwich, and now you want coffee?" Fugo shot Narancia a skeptical look.

"Why not. In the meantime we can try to commandeer a car." Maria shrugged.

"Coffee it is." Giorno shrugged.

* * *

Giorno hadn't spoken for quite some time. The whole way they'd been walking, in fact.

Was it a Joestar trait, bottling emotions the way they did?

Was he concerned for them, thinking his mourning would bring them down with him? That it would jeopardize the whole mission?

Did he think he was saving face, in front of his gang? That if he looked tough and shed no tears, they'd respect him?

Damned Joestars. It was a puzzle in itself getting inside their heads, let alone working with them. She had to wonder if her Uncle Caesar had this much trouble, with Joseph. They just had to bottle up their emotions, keep their problems to themselves. At any time, they had to be as goody-goody as possible, taking care of the people around them before even giving a thought to themselves. If there was one lesson this family needed to learn, it was how to be selfish. In this day and age, the only thing the good-hearted got was a kick in the ass. But... for some reason or another, they just had to put others first.

"Hey. Mind if i get a little outta the blue with you, for a minute?" Mista whispered, right into her ear.

"Huh? Oh, uh... i guess." Maria muttered, shifting her shoulders.

"You an' him. You two got, like... i don't know. A thing going on? Or something?" Mista muttered, glancing between Giorno and her.

"... Do you?" Maria grumbled.

"I'm askin' you." Mista argued.

"I'm asking you." Maria huffed.

"... You've known him for a day." Mista rolled his eyes.

"You've known him for less than a month." Maria shot back. "Neither one of us knows him very well."

"Yeah but... a day." Mista scoffed.

"A month." Maria mocked his tone. "Seriously. If he's your boytoy, take him. Won't break my heart."

"I want to know if he's your boytoy." Mista huffed.

"Do i seem like i need a boytoy?" Maria scoffed.

A tense silence fell between the two. The crackle of unspoken words, mutual, clashing feelings. One could practically cut the air with a knife. The only sounds to break it were the gulls of the harbor, and the quiet harmonic hum of Hamon, crackling between Maria's gritting teeth. Giorno walked silently ahead of the two. Wether or not he could hear the small conflict, he didn't show.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... Do you have dibs?" Maria muttered awkwardly.

Mista just shifted awkwardly.

"... I'm not laying dibs if you have. He's cute and all. Charming, really. But..."

"... No. No dibs." Mista sighed, rubbing his neck. There was a hot flush to his cheeks, throughout this whole conversation. His palms were sweaty, shaking, even. How did someone even go about this? They had the chance of Nirvana killing them any day, any time. Was this even really the time to be sorting out their mutual closeness for the blonde?

...probably not. Chances were, it was going to come up at some point. By all things considered, it was probably more appropriate Maria win this one. She was... cute enough, he supposed. If one could push past the perpetual sarcastic attitude and her penchant for jabs and jeering, she had a good sense for emotional tension, and reading the air.

And it'd probably reflect far better on Giorno to have her on his arm than Mista. It's not like Giorno could go out with him around, shopping arm in arm and going out on dates. Nor was another guy particularly good arm candy at parties, when eventually they all found themselves promoted. They couldn't really go out together, hold hands, eat off each other's forks, give each other presents, hug, kiss, or any of the things couples did.

... Was he really worrying about how he might look to others? Moreso, was he really considering seceding to Maria? The girl had barely known him a couple of days! How on earth was that enough time to build anything resembling chemistry?! It was just the pressure of the conflict ahead getting to their heads. They didn't even know how strong Nirvana really was. Nirvana had yet to attack them herself anyhow. They didn't even know wether or not Nirvana could actually kill them! So why was he butting heads with Maria over who would find themselves on Giorno's arm when all of this was over?!

* * *

"Hey Giorno." Giorno glanced over at the mention of his name, only to be met with an uppercut, just missing his ear. Giorno jumped, staring back at Maria with wide eyes.

"Wh-what did i do?!" Giorno yelped, holding his ear with wide eyes.

"We're goin' up against Nirvana, right? While we're waiting on this dump of a bus, let's train." Maria pepped, already bouncing on her feet like a boxer before their fight.

"You... want to fight?" Giorno blinked back at her, confused.

"I wanna train. Nirvana's gonna come swooping down on us when she realizes we're not dead. Let's get some punchin' in and get ready for her." Maria said enthusiastically, jabbing with a few test punches as Giorno stumbled off the bench trying to avoid her.

"I... I don't even know how to..." Giorno mumbled awkwardly, raising his fists shakily.

"How to what? How to fight?" Maria gaped back at him. How had this kid survived Naples on his own without throwing a single sucker punch?!

"Well that too... How to do... that." Giorno mumbled, pointing to how Maria's fists were practically glistening at the skin with Hamon, giving it a golden, ethereal glow.

"This?" Maria blinked back at him, holding up her fists to his eyes. Giorno flinched away, squinting his eyes shut at the incoming punch.

"Well first, don't do that." Maria huffed, setting a hand on his shoulder. Giorno slowly opened his eyes again, still shrunk back as if really expecting her to just punch him.

"Stop doing that or i really will punch you." Maria grumbled. Giorno gulped, slowly standing straighter, till they were at eye level. His face still turned away, slightly.

"It's easy once you get it down. I gave you Hamon, back on the plane. You're producing it now. But it's all in the breathing. The more you're afraid, the weaker your Hamon's gonna come out." Maria instructed. "Just focus inward, on your breathing. Take in deep, fill your chest, and slowly let it out. Don't focus on me. Least not yet."

Giorno did as instructed. A part of him still expected her to really punch him out of nowhere, when he wasn't ready. Granted, Maria wasn't one for nasty tricks either. Setting aside his own doubts about her, he did as told. Turning his attention towards his breathing, he inhaled, trying to focus his breathing into his chest.

"Muscles, kid. Tighten up your stomach when you do it, and hold it like that. You want to use your diaphram and up." Maria instructed, setting gentle fingers inbetween his lower ribs as he inhaled. It was... strange, being this close to someone. Instinct told Giorno to be suspicious, that having someone that close was an opening. But... Maria had never done him wrong, in the few days they'd known each other. If anything, she'd opened up to him more than he had. Did he really trust her not to put a knife in his ribs and snatch the Red Stone running?

... perhaps.

"Now breathe out. and use your diaphram this time, to push it all out of your lungs." Maria nodded, more focused on their exercise than paying attention to his reddening face. Nevertheless, Giorno did as instructed. He pushed the air out of his lungs, tightening his stomach as he did so, the air pushing out in one hard puff. True to her word, he could hear the bell-like ringing of Hamon in his ears and between his teeth, on the tails of the breath he just took.

"You're doing great, kid." Maria nodded in approval, now coming around behind him and holding his arms by the wrists, unintentionally pushing herself into his back. "Now, for that punch. You want to curl your fingers around. You'll want to use your thumb, don't do it. You'll break your thumbs doing that. Instead you just want to keep your fingers loose and flexible like that, and use your knuckles to dig in." Maria muttered, slowly sliding her hands up his wrists and around his hand, prying his thumbs out and positioning his hands proper. Giorno just followed along, trying not to focus on how soft her hands really were, or how he got shivers when they slid like that.

"Now. Come on and throw one. I can take it." Maria nodded, coming back around and putting up her fists. Giorno just gulped before charging at her, sloppily swinging his arms with no aim whatsoever. Maria dodged every one, frowning before bringing her own fist up to his cheek. It was like a hard slap of water, a wake up. The pain radiated in a pulsating manner, from his cheek outwards, with the point of impact hot and stinging. Maria wasn't done yet, however. She'd opened her thumb from the punch, jabbing it straight into the corner of his eye, just shy of the eyeball itself. Somehow, the pain from that tiny thumb hurt more than the punch itself, radiating through his eye with a sting to the point of tears.

"Man, oh man." Maria groaned in disappointment, letting Giorno fall back on the bench with a hand to his eye. "We've got a long way to go..."

"What was that?!" Giorno snapped, slamming his fist into the bench as he glared back at her.

"A punch." Maria shrugged.

"No, that last bit! How fair is that, blinding your opponent like that?!" Giorno snapped, pointing to where his eye was already red and the corner starting to bruise.

"Oh, that? Kid, that trick's probably older than you and i combined!" Maria scoffed. "Blinding your opponent is exactly what you want! You want to buy time to get out of a corner, the way i just showed you."

"So you cheat, is that it?!" Giorno huffed angrily.

"Kid. When you're facing down Nirvana, you should cheat. Cheating might save your life." Maria huffed, pulling Giorno to stand again.

"I'm not going to trade my honor to get an upper hand, if that's your trick." Giorno grumbled, rubbing his cheek.

"Good grief... Here. I'll give you a free shot. We'll be even." Maria stuck her face towards him, holding her left cheek out for a punch.

"This is a trick." Giorno huffed angrily.

"No tricks. Just a punch for a punch." Maria sighed. "Now hurry up. We've only got a couple of minutes. And I want to be able to claim self defense when Mista comes out of that bathroom."

"I can't... punch a girl." Giorno muttered, his voice lowering at the last part. He was met by yet another punch to the other cheek, no thumb this time.

"Girl just punched you." Maria said smugly, still holding her cheek out. Giorno's nostrils flared, raising his fist angrily. Rather than a left hand punch, as Maria was expecting, Giorno instead came from below with his other fist, straight into her unprepared right cheek. She actually seemed caught off guard by this, rubbing her cheek with wide green eyes. Giorno wouldn't look at her, already looking at the ground with a guilty expression. Rather than being met with words or a fist, she just rolled her eyes and stood straight again.

"Well. You're catching onto the concept pretty fast." Maria nodded approvingly.

"I punched a girl." Giorno muttered awkwardly.

"And a Capo, at that. You're on a real roll, kid!" Maria grinned, patting him on the shoulder.

"Please don't make me do that again." Giorno muttered, shoving his hands in his pocket.

"Well... unless we get a third person to complete the Hamon Warrior tribe, i'm afraid you'll have to get very accustomed to punching girls." Maria said smugly, patting his shoulder.

"Isn't there anything else we can do?" Giorno muttered. "I... don't like this fighting thing."

"Well... I'm kinda learning at the same pace as you, kid. But... I suppose i could do something about that bruise." Maria got very close again, bringing her hands up to his cheeks and rubbing them with Hamon-charged fingertips. Now this was... pleasant. She worked just along his jawbone, rubbing the muscle there with hamon, sending pleasant, warm thrills down his neck and spine. Giorno couldn't help but shudder a bit. at the sensation, leaning into her fingers.

"Wha... it sounded like a fight out here!" Mista had returned, staring at them with wide eyes, focused on the bruises on his and her cheeks.

"Wouldn't you like that. Nah. Just showing greenie how to throw a real punch.' Maria said smugly.

"What... like... you let him punch you?!" Mista said defensively, already charging up to Giorno to her defense.

"Calm down, meathead. I told him to do it. He's never thrown a damn punch in his life, and i'm showing him how, so he doesn't do something stupid like get eaten." Maria puffed, kicking Mista in the shin.

"But... you're just teaching him how to hit girls?!" Mista puffed.

"I'm not teaching him how to hit girls, dummy. He was sitting here begging me not to." Maria muttered, embarassed. "But he needs to learn so we can jump to the next step with Hamon."

"... I guess..." Mista muttered, turning her head to look at her jaw. "Just... let me or Fugo referee from now on, alright? I don't like seeing beat-up girls."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever puts you at ease, buddy." Maria sighed, patting him on the shoulder. The two seemed almost... comfortable, with each other now. Mista always did have a soft spot for girls in distress, anyhow. While Maria wasn't exactly a charity case... the concern was appreciated.

"And i don't normally feel bad for guys who hit girls... but just be careful, alright?" Mista sighed, looking the fist marks over on his cheeks. "Huh. I guess you really did more damage to him than he did you."

"We need to work on this kid's arm strength. That was just pitiful." Maria grumbled, eyeing Giorno's skinny forearms with a critical eye.


	22. Chapter 22

A7 Toll Road, Aix-en-Provence, France

"You're just going to follow the road straight to Lyon. No turns." Maria hummed, folding the map up and counting out 22.10 in Euros. Figures she'd end up driving. The other four were crowded into the back, napping on each other's shoulders, and leaving her with a rare moment of silence. Silence was never good.

Silence was uneasy.

Silence meant something was wrong.

Silence was pressing, a metaphorical wall pressing down between her and the other passengers of the car.

It made her think. What would they find when they reached Paris? Had Nirvana already beaten them there? God knew she had agents everywhere else. Nirvana probably knew every step of their journey, and had planted agents to stop them just so. Would Nirvana herself appear? Why wouldn't she? They'd already made their way through a good portion of her forces already. At some point she had to step in herself. At least Caesar and Joseph had the good luck to have a first face off with Waamu and Kars. At that point they'd at least known what Waamu was capable of.

Nirvana may very well be the strongest fighter of them all. Or she might be the weakest.

What happened if she'd already gotten to Caesar. What if she already had the Red Stone of Aja? She may very well be sitting in the shadows, The Red Stone, and Stand in hand, waiting for them to come to her. What if this was all just her luring them closer and closer? She didn't like this feeling. It was when she 'talked' to The Boss. She didn't quite know what kind of power was watching her from the other side of the computer screen, but something told her it was a bit like a sleeping dragon.

Large.

Looming.

Powerful.

But sleeping.

A content, sleeping dragon that watched from webcams and computer screens.

Well. Perhaps not content.

Reaching into her pocket absently, she fingered the well-worn, coarse beads of a rosary.

Perhaps helping a sleeping dragon claim the jewel of his hoard was a bad idea. Perhaps coming along on this trip was a bad idea. But... she seemed to be making a lot of bad decisions lately.

Her eyes briefly darted from the road towards the mobile phone seated in the centre console.

She should probably give her mother a call. Let her know her 'baby girl' is still kickin'. For all that they fought and spat at each other, that woman still managed to hold love in her heart for family. For every snap of that towel and every 'bitch' out of Maria's mouth, she could recall every morning that her mother had been at the door, schoolbag in hand and a smile on her face. Every 'goodbye' kiss out the door. Every afternoon, Maria's hands in her mother's, sanding and sawing and chiselling and staining the fine pieces the Zeppeli's proudly sold with their stamp. Proudly branding their name into every piece, together. Far too kind memories, for her. If she'd known what kind of monster was wearing her daughter's skin...

Was it kinder to let her mother think she'd disappeared, or to inform Irene Zeppeli that she'd lost a daughter to the Zeppeli Family Curse, too?

With a frown, she glanced away from the phone back at the road.

It was spineless. She could face down gangsters, paedophiles, Stand Users, dogs, and a millennia-old Pillar Woman and her pet... but she couldn't give her mother a call of comfort.

It was thoughts like this that sent her reaching for her blunts.

Shifting her hand in her pockets, she started fishing around for the well-worn metal cigar case. Not in the right pocket. Not in the left. Was it in the bag...?

Wait. She'd left it back on the submarine.

Maria petulantly groaned, her hands tightening on the wheel and flopping back in the seat, bringing her other hand back up to the wheel to drive properly. Guess she was making this trip sober.

Just as she'd settled into the driver's seat, the phone rung.

Now who the hell would be calling them...?

Glancing away for only a moment, Maria took the phone, resting it on her shoulder as she drove.

"Miss Zeppeli."

... Oh. Oh...

"Hey, uh... interesting timing... i'm kinda driving right now..."

"You forgot something very important back in Rome." The deep rumble of his voice betrayed a quiet anger, bubbling just below the tone of his voice. She was never quite able to explain it, but when The Boss spoke, something in his voice always sent her hairs standing straight and a shiver down her arms, even if it was just over the phone. Right down to the Sardenian lilt to his vowels, every word he spoke held weight, made one choke on their words and bate their breath. It was rare that he actually called, himself. Either it was very important or she was in massive trouble. "You're a bright girl. I want you to think really hard about it, now..."

"..."

The realization hit her like a truck, and nearly brought the car swerving into the next lane.

She was supposed to pick up Doppio in Rome.

She forgot about Doppio.

Fuck.

"... Heh... wow. I must've really forgotten. I... can't imagine what it could be!" Maria gulped, trying to steady her voice as her grip tightened on the wheel.

"Cara mia, you're so thoughtless. Did you really forget?"

"Heh he... yep! I mean... i got to the drop off, you know. And he just... wasn't there! I looked everywhere trying to find him..."

"Is that so...?"

"Yep! He must've gotten distracted, walked off! Or maybe he just got tired of waiting and sat down! You know how it is! He's so small, he blends right into a crowd!"

"He could've done that..."

"Right?! Maybe we just missed each other!"

"Maybe..."

"So i forgot about Doppio. But it's too late to go back and get him now, isn't it? You'll just have to trust my word on this one."

"Funny thing, that... I'm told you were seen at the local safehouse there. I was also informed you entered and exited within the late hours of 6 and 9. Melone was also with you. And i have evidence that you made two purchases of Prosecco and Sorbet. You remained at the safehouse late into the night, near the hours of 1 and 2 in the morning. Now, my dear Doppio may not look it, but he's got quite the taste for fine wines. Sorbet is actually his favorite..."

It was all accurate.

She had to figure The Boss would have a tight grip on his own operation. Of course she'd be watched. Hell, he probably had one of his own men training a gun at her at all times, should she choose to pocket the Red Stone for herself. But partying when she was supposed to be arranging transport out of Rome with the boss's own consigliere...

It was embarrassingly unprofessional.

A weight set in her gut, sinking even slower as the Boss gave a 'tsk, tsk, tsk'.

She could only bite her tongue and nod wordlessly at the information.

"Tell me, Cara mia. What do you consider the most important trait, when entrusting someone with something as... invaluable, as your life's work?"

"..."

"It wasn't rhetorical, Zeppeli."

"I... Um..."

All her life, if there were two things Maria could be credited for, it was her ability to rouse people to action...

And kissing ass.

In that very moment she didn't know which skill to use. Her mind was swimming with answers, excuses, praises, to passionately and desperately plea for The Boss's forgiveness.

"Loyalty, sir! How can an organisation possibly hope to run with dishonest members and betrayal? If not for you, for Passione, well, who knows where i'd be?! I owe you my life, sir!

And her gut told her The Boss respected strength. That a strong, honest, straightforward answer would win his respect.

"Honesty, sir. Transparency between a boss and their underling must be key in any organisation. Yes, i left Doppio in Rome. But without him, i can travel so much lighter, see? Two people carrying the Stone is just unneeded attention. Cops might get wind of us, and tail us back to you."

"..."

"Honesty... and trust, sir." Maria mumbled after a long silence. The other side of the phone was silent, save for the brush of air past the receiver on the other end.

"Nice answer, Zeppeli." Maria let out a quiet sigh of relief, falling back in the driver's seat. "But that's not what you really think... is it."

Crap.

"You see, cara mia . You have it under perception that you know exactly what everyone around you is thinking. That you know exactly how things will pan out. You should get rid of that mentality as fast as you can. It's not good for business, and it's not good for your career with me. People like that... they tend to get cocky. Eventually, i have the unpleasant business of getting rid of them. After all. Can't have the gang looking up to other people."

"I..."

"I only speak for your well being, dear. Confidence like that doesn't sit well with everyone. Passione's like a finely tuned machine. The members, cogs and gears and wiring, all working together to support me. And the nice thing about machinery. When a piece breaks, a wire frays, a cog rusts and wears out... it can be replaced. People are much the same. So keep that in mind, the next time you think to fall out of line."

She wanted to chuck the phone straight out the window.

"...Of course, sir. Thank you, sir."

"Please ensure accidents like this don't happen in the future. It would be a shame to lose you, for someone with such a bright future ahead of her."

Maria had barely noticed Brick in The Wall's fist had wrapped around the phone, the plastic casing crushing and cracking under the force.

"... Yes, sir. Thank you." With that said, the call abruptly cut off, leaving Maria in silence.

CRACK

The shattered phone dropped into the center console, it's plastic casing pulverised and it's inner reciever and electronic guts spilling out.

The nerve of that man! Hardly the slightest concern, for either her or the rest of his subordinates! He had the nerve to think of people as... as... Replaceable! As parts in a machine, of all things! What the hell did he have any right to be flaunting confidence like that?! Did he really think no one would ever rise to his rank?! That he was... what. Immortal? A god? Where the hell did he get off putting people down like this?! That people were to be used and then tossed aside when they weren't useful anymore?!

It took all of her strength not to put her fist through the steering wheel.

"Who was that?"

Maria was snapped out of her inward rage, glancing to see Giorno quietly watching her from the passenger seat. How long had he been listening to all of that?

"... Nobody." Maria muttered, looking firmly at the road ahead.

"... You shouldn't put up with that." Giorno said simply, not averting his eyes on her.

"Shut up. Stay out of things you don't know anything about." Maria snapped, her nails digging into the steering wheel.

"I know anyone who calls their subordinates 'replaceable', doesn't deserve to be sitting on the top." Giorno shook his head.

"The way to the top is a pile of bodies, Giovanna. You're either a body on the pile or you're one of the 's the way things have always been. So get that hopeful dreamer shit outta here." Maria huffed.

"Why don't you do something about it?" Giorno persisted.

"Like what?" Maria scoffed.

"If you were higher up, you could do something about the way he treats you. About the way he treats people. Even about the things he does. You could change things." Giorno insisted.

"And what. What difference am i gonna make under a guy who'd die before leaving his damn throne?" Maria scoffed.

"Who says it has to be under him?"

"You shouldn't joke about shit like that." Maria chuckled, a bit bewildered by the comment. Giorno didn't crack a smile, nor laugh. Just keeping that plain expression as if he were talking about something as simple as the weather.

"... Heh. Heh. I guess that is a pretty funny joke." Maria's smile was dropping.

"...You're not laughing. That was a joke, right? Ha ha ha?"

"..."

Giorno just shrugged, finally looking away.

He was serious. He was seriously talking about killing the boss and taking over the gang. This conversation had taken a sharp turn...

"Let's just say I've got a dream." Giorno said, shifting in his seat to lean on his elbows. "A long time ago, a gang member did something for me. I'd like to make other people's lives better. Protect them, the way he did me. That's what i'd like for everyone in Passione to do. For each other, and for the people."

"That's what we call a pipe dream, Giovanna. Passione holds up now because the system works. People are always going to distrust each other. That's human nature."Maria muttered.

"You don't think that." Giorno shrugged.

"..."

Maria stared firmly at the road ahead, her brows furrowed.

"Wouldn't it be nice... to finally have something within sight? To change the things that have always bothered you?" Giorno prompted.

"... mmmm." Maria hummed.

"... I guess it probably does sound like a silly pipe dream." Giorno said, propping his head on one hand. "Forget i said anything."

Well. It wasn't the worst pipe dream she'd ever heard.


End file.
